The Lost Civilization: DLC
by dashboardgecko
Summary: A collection of one-shots and mini-stories based off MH fanfiction 'The Lost Civilization,' written to sate my thirst to write! Let's see what sort of adventures and antics the heroes, villains, and side characters of TLC get up to after the main story as we wait for MH4 and the sequel to The Lost Civilization!
1. Philter

Philter

_Disclaimer: Monster Hunter is copyright Capcom. The characters in this story are mine._

_ Edited by: Hoenn Master96 _

_This one-shot is NOT CANON with The Lost Civilization._

* * *

"Ah… ah, wait my friend! I wouldn't use that brand if I were you!"

Levin paused, his hand hovering over the display in front of him, turning to frown at Harker. He had meant to pick up a few air philters in preparation of a Gobul he and his friends were planning to hunt, specifically the Desert Bluffs brand, but Harker's shout had cut him off. "Why?" he asked warily, pulling his hand away. "What's so bad about Desert Bluffs' air philters?"

Harker opened his mouth to reply, but paused, furrowing his brows in thought. "It's… hmm, how to phrase this? It is a brand in which the marketing misspelling in fact dictates the unintended truth of the product."

Levin paused, working the words through his head. "_What_?"

"It unintentionally lives up to its brand name."

"I still don't understand. There aren't many people that can follow your thought processes, Harker."

Harker sighed dramatically, and picked up on of the small bags, holding it up to Levin's face. "You know what these are, yes?"

"Sure, they're air philters," Levin replied. "…Aren't they?"

"Yes, they are. However… what do find strange about their name?"

"Their name?" Levin asked, looking at the packaging. "Nothing, really… I mean, 'filter' is spelled funny, but other than that…"

"No, that's exactly it! The spelling!" Harker declared. "The spelling is everything when it comes to this brand! This brand is a 'philter', in both senses of the word!"

"You lost me again…" Levin sighed, shaking his head.

"Answer me this, my friend. What is a filter? With an 'F'?"

"Something that separates two things? Like air and water?"

"Close enough. But what is a 'philter', with a 'P-H'?"

"I don't know," Levin admitted. "I thought it was just a funny spelling thing they did as a sort of marketing ploy or something. Or a translation error or something…"

"Allow me to educate you, then," Harker said quickly. "Marketing ploy or not, the spelling they chose has an actual meaning. A 'philter' – with a 'P-H' – is an archaic word. It was used to describe a fluid or drug which was used to invoke feelings of enticement or attraction."

Levin mulled over that for a moment. "A love potion?"

"Essentially."

"But wait…" Levin muttered. "It… 'lives up to its brand name'… Desert Bluffs philters are… love potions?"

"Yes. Well, sort of," Harker replied. Levin looked warily down at the philter in his hand. "Perhaps I should explain."

"I'd appreciate that."

"So… are you aware how filters are created?"

Levin had to think about that for a moment. "Airweed… honey, and… bitterbug extract?"

"Exactly, yes."

"So what's the problem? Those three things don't turn into a love potion… do they?"

"No not at all," Harker told him. Levin glared at the long sword user and crossed his arms, but Harker raised his hands. "Let me finish. However, these are Desert Bluffs philters. Their company is, of course, in the desert. And remember, airweed only grows well near water, which there is very little of in the desert."

"So where did they get the airweed, then?"

"They grew it themselves. Rather, they crossbred their own special strain of airweed, one mixed with a special cactus flower. Over several years, they managed to develop a unique strain of airweed: one that would grow easily in the desert, despite having little water. Thus they were able to produce the brand in large quantities, despite their company being in the desert. It even had a boon of smelling slightly of lilac when covering the mouth."

"Yeah, they advertise that…" Levin muttered. "So, wait, I still don't understand what this has to do with love potions and namesakes and all that…"

"Ah, that… well, I was getting to that. You see… well, normal air philters do as they advertise, separating air from the water while you are swimming, allowing a hunter to breath underwater unhindered for between ten and thirty minutes, depending on the quality of the philter. However…"

"However…?"

"The crossbred strain has an… unexpected side effect. It's hardly noticeable, but…"

"It's actually a love potion?" Levin asked, stunned. "Seriously?"

"Not exactly…" Harker muttered. "The idea of making someone truly fall in love through chemical means is impossible… or at least that I'm aware of. Rather, the cactus flower, while it does produce a mild lilac scent, has another effect. The oxygen and carbon dioxide transfer created by the airweed activates this other effect in the Desert Bluffs brand. It's… uncommon to see, since it only happens when the integrity of the philter has broken down a bit, after perhaps twenty or twenty-five minutes underwater. When this happens, however, the Philter release several chemicals, such as serotonin, caffeine… and a mild aphrodisiac."

Levin's jaw dropped as the words registered in his mind. "These philters are… aphrodisiacs? You… you're joking. You're just messing with me, aren't you?"

"No, not at all," Harker replied, shaking his head. "I didn't believe it myself at first, either. What self-respecting company would release such a thing without proper testing? But recall: Desert Bluffs is in the desert. There really isn't that much water in the area to test these philters. And like I said, you'd have to wear them for a long time underwater without stopping for the side effects to kick in.

"Besides, I did some… side research to see if I was correct. The Guild keeps scrupulous records of the hunters they send out into the field, for the most part. I did some research on the state of hunters that hunt primarily in the regions near the Flooded Forest, as well as in cities like Orage Dell by the coast. Now, Desert Bluffs began producing these filters about three years ago, and in that same amount of time, average romantic relationships between Guild hunters increased by roughly twenty-three percent."

Levin was silent for a moment, and then snorted in laughter. In a moment, the hunter was in fits, clutching his sides as he laughed, earning a few odd looks from passersby. But he ignored them, looking back at Harker. "Wow. Just… wow. That is hilarious. I bet that's got a few Guild men scratching their heads doesn't it?"

"I'm sure," Harker replied, smirking wryly. "However… it also increased the average _pregnancy rate _within the Guild by thirteen percent as well."

Levin's laughing cut off immediately, and the switch axe user paled. "Oh. Oh boy… well… That's certainly something."

"And that's why I felt compelled to warn you, my friend."

"Ah, right… well, thanks for that, then…" Levin muttered. "Are you, uh, planning on taking that information to the Guild or anything? I feel like they'd want to know."

"Oh, I've tried," Harker replied sourly. "But I suppose my reputation precedes me… The Guild researchers tend to slam their doors when they see me coming. I'm planning on just taking it straight to Stergo one of these days if they don't just listen to me."

"That's probably the best plan."

"I imagine the fallout when word gets out about Desert Bluffs' negligence will be something interesting to witness. Politics and business issues are really things that I care little for, but I think I'll keep watch on the ensuing issues when they fall through." The madman huffed indignantly, crossing his arms. "A true scientist must properly test their creations! The creators of these air philters should be held accountable for such negligence."

"Hold on though…" Levin muttered, looking down at the packaging. "These philters… isn't this the brand that Kerry usually uses?"

Harker blinked at the words, a look of confusion on his face as he looked down as well. "Are they? I never really paid attention to that…"

"Yeah, I heard her talking about it with Ellie once; she likes them because they smell like lilac… Does she know about these side effects?"

"No… I haven't told her about this particular study of mine yet…" The long sword wielder paused, furrowing his brows. Then his face lit up with realization, and he snapped his fingers. "Aha! That explains it."

"Explains what?" Levin asked cautiously.

"Oh, it's just, when Lady Kerrigan and myself went off to hunt a Royal Ludroth in the Flooded Forest hunting grounds a few weeks ago, she was… _exceptionally _affectionate after we completed the hunt. The Guild collection wagons almost arrived at the base camp before we could finish-"

"Harker!"

The madman jolted to a halt mid-sentence, looking at Levin in confusion as the switch axe wielder shook his head in exasperation. Harker seemed to realize what he'd been saying, and his face reddened slightly, his eyes darting down towards the ground. "I, ah, suppose I should maintain discretion toward such concerns. The, ah, better part of valor and all that…"

"Yeah, no kidding…" Levin muttered, chuckling to himself. He looked down at the philters for a moment longer before sighing and tossing the one he'd grabbed back onto the pile. "I suppose it would be fun to test out myself, swap out Ellie's philters with some of these… but she'd beat me into a sticky red paste if she found out I'd done something like that."

"Perhaps…" Harker replied thoughtfully. "Then again, she may very well be, as they say, 'into that kind of thing'."

"Ha! Wouldn't that be something! Well, I'm not going to risk it either way. Come on, let's go to the next shop. There's gotta be someplace around here that sells a philter that won't have… _interesting _side effects."

"You know, we could always use one of the philters I made myself," Harker offered as the pair walked out of the shop. "They're rather easy to make, and I'm confident that I-"

"I'd rather risk the Desert Bluffs' philters," Levin grumbled, cutting the madman off as the pair left the shop.

* * *

"This is the place! I know they sell them here."

It was a couple hours, later when the same small booth of air philters had someone in front of it. Ellie looked down at the airweed creations, plucking one up and looking at it critically. She raised it up to her nose, giving it a cautious whiff.

"Lilac, just like you said," she muttered, looking over at her friend, Kerry. "And… you're certain that they work like you said they would?"

"I'm fairly certain they do. Harker did a study on them and I browsed his notes when he was sleeping," Kerry replied. Ellie smirked wickedly at her friend, and the huntress' face tinted red. "Of course, I didn't get to them until after one time when I… um, never mind that."

"You'll have to tell me this story sometime!" Ellie laughed, making her friend blush even harder.

"No, no, I think I'll keep it to myself," Kerry muttered. Then she shook her head. "Just remember: you should be sure to rub a little bit of honey on the inside. It hides the smell of lilac, which is a bit of a giveaway…"

"You've really done your own research on this, haven't you?" Ellie asked, her smirk growing. Kerry huffed in embarrassment, brushing her hands down and straightening her dress.

"Don't look at me like that! Need I remind you that you were the one that insisted we come out and buy some after I mentioned their effects to you? I have little doubt your own intentions are less noble than my own! Besides, Harker is… dedicated to his research. And he sometimes requires reminders that he needs to give proper attention to the important people in his life. He's usually very receptive of words and subtle gestures, but… well, sometimes other, more indirect methods are needed."

"What, you couldn't just grab him and throw him over your shoulder, and drag him back to your room? Mercy knows you could do it, as strong as you are. He wouldn't complain, I'm sure."

Kerry whined a bit at the words, much to Ellie's amusement, but shook her head and continued. "_Anyway_… the next time you go on a hunt that requires you to do some swimming, swap Levin's air philters with these. If he stays underwater long enough… well, just trust me, it works."

"And if he doesn't stay under long enough?"

"Well, the direct method is always an option…" Kerry replied. Then she gave Ellie her own wicked smile. "But where's the fun in that?"

"Aha! That's more like it!" Ellie laughed, wrapping an arm around her friend's shoulders. "You're a lot more fun when you're honest, you know that? Now come on. Let's buy a few dozen of these, get a good stockpile before your boy manages to inform the Guild and get them to put Desert Bluffs out of business."

"If that happens, I could just make some of them myself," Kerry said, as the pair grabbed several of the philters. Ellie turned, raising her eyebrows at the words. "Erm… well, Harker did document how they crossbred the airweed in the first place, and I'm pretty good at growing flowers…"

Ellie giggled wickedly. "And you called me a dirty girl! You're going to wear poor Harker out the way you go on!" Ellie laughed as Kerry's face reddened again. "I suppose that's enough teasing for now. Now come on; let's buy these and get back to the inn. I need to prepare for tomorrow's hunt…."

* * *

**Author's Note: Please Review!**

**Some of you may be wondering what it is you're looking at, this little pointless (and pretty much non-canon, since there's not much time for something like this to happen) story. Well, I've mentioned thinking about making a sequel to TLC, but I realized that meant not writing for probably a full year while I gathered up ideas and story elements. But writing, man… I've been trying to plug out 500-1000 words a day for over three years. It's something you get used to, and learn to love. I've wrapped my schedule around writing time! I could start a new, completely different story, something original, not fan fiction. I've had an idea bouncing around in my head, something I'd consider putting over on fictionpress… But considering my writing style, it would take a long time to write. My releases were already spread out to a monthly basis, and it would only take longer, writing two different stories. And I'm not sure how well I'd fare, trying to write two stories at once. I had a hard enough time keeping track of everything in TLC… **

…**So, yeah. I'm not sure how many of you remember, but the idea for this one-shot has been bouncing around in my head since **_**chapter 12**_** of TLC. I mentioned it in the author's notes there, taking note of the odd spelling of the word 'philter'. I felt it would be appropriate as the first one-shot, considering how long it's been in my head.**

**But I decided to do this, these one-shot drivels that wouldn't take too long to write. Nothing big or too complex, just something to sate the desire to write between now and whenever I write a sequel. Some of it might be canon with TLC, but others (like this chapter) are just there for laughs or fluff. I've got a few more serious story ideas which will be a bit longer than some, and may take several chapters to write, but not many. But here's where you, the dear reader, come in. I've only got ideas for about seven of these short stories. If you have any ideas of things or odd situations I could write, or want to just give me a prompt, I'll see if it inspires me to write something. In the meantime, I'll try to release a chapter once every two weeks, if not more frequently. Enjoy!**

**And one last funny story… I was playing 3U with another MH writer, Thomas A. Hawk, when we happened to run across a random player named 'Levin'! It seemed he'd read both our stories, and had named his character after my male protagonist, but did not realize he was playing with both of the writers. I was waiting for the perfect moment to just blow his mind and reveal that I was the writer, but unfortunately, he left the room abruptly, and I missed my chance. Remember folks, my character name in 3U is That Spy, and my NID is almanorigin! No geckos mentioned! Send me a friend request if you want to play!**

**Playing: Pokemon X, MH3U  
Listening: Crit Juice Podcast, Van Morrison  
Watching: **_**Porco Rosso**_


	2. Prolificacy

Prolificacy

_Disclaimer: Monster Hunter is copyright Capcom. All the characters in this story are mine. _

_Edited by: Hoenn Master96_

_This one-shot is CANON with The Lost Civilization_

* * *

**Two Years Since the Fall of the Alatreon**

* * *

The sound of light scratching could be heard emanating from the small work room as Kerry emerged from the small bedroom of the house she shared with her husband, Harker. She yawned wearily, looking up at a small handmade clock Harker had made and pinned to the wall; it was sloppily crafted, but usually accurate, and told her it was two o'clock in the morning. It was far too late at night for anyone with sense to be awake if they didn't have to be, and the lack of a warm body next to her in bed when she had awoken five minutes ago had shown her Harker was one of those senseless people.

The dim light of a candle flickered in the next room, dark shadows dancing on the opposite walls. Kerry looked in, and sure enough, there was Harker, leaning over a scattered pile of papers, a small pencil scribbling down notes and thoughts into a notebook as his eyes darted over the words and symbols written on the papers in front of him, his left hand doing all the writing while his still-gimped right arm hung loosely across his lap. His blonde hair had grown long in the last year, so much so that he'd even taken to tying it back to keep it from getting in his face when he was doing research.

Kerry looked around the room. Much of the house they shared, a solid stone structure hidden away at the base of the mountains just northeast of Nastre, resembled this room. It was a mess, the walls, floors, tables, and desks covered in papers and research notes. The smell of ink and parchment was thick in the air, despite the gentle breeze wafting in through a nearby window. Papers crinkled under her feet as she walked towards Harker, some important, most not; most had Harker's uneven scrawl across them, the madman's script still sloppy as he was still unaccustomed to writing with his left hand. Kerry wished Harker would put more effort into cleanliness and organization, like she did, but the man's attention span seemed too short to even contemplate the idea of proper filing.

Most of the space in this house had been set aside and dedicated to their research. They both had studies of their own, wide rooms like this one, used for research and notes of whatever studies had caught their attentions at the time. In the back was also a larger, much sturdier room, built of stone and lined with metal, and used for more dangerous experiments, those which could result in explosions (which seemed surprisingly frequent). The last thing they needed was to blow up a house. Again. More often than not, it was Harker using the lab, but every once in a while one of her own research experiments required the use of more sturdy walls. All the other spaces in the structure were duly reduced to make more room for their work. Their kitchen and bathrooms were small, with just enough room for doing what needed done in them. The bedroom had just as tight of quarters, with just a few feet of space between the bed and the walls, barely enough for the trinkets and mementos the pair of them had gathered through the years. Heck, even their old armor sets and weapons from their hunting days had been shoved into the back of a closet somewhere… or Kerry's were at least; Harker might have dismantled his own for materials, knowing him.

But Kerry loved it. It had been almost a year since they'd moved to Nastre, and even with the messes bordering on chaos and the tight quarters, she was enjoying the life she had with Harker, especially now that they were finally married…

Though, she had to admit, there were flaws; Harker's tendency towards messiness was but one of them. She couldn't hang many knick-knacks on the walls or place fragile things on high shelves, since a single botched experiment in the lab could shake the house and send them all clattering to the ground. And though she was fairly proud of her cooking skills, the space issues in their kitchen made it rough cooking anything with any sort of complexity to it. Not to mention Harker's research usually distracted him from showing Kerry proper attention, a veritable _crime _for a couple which had only been married a little over a month…

But, such actions were forgivable, and Kerry knew this was the life she'd signed on for when she'd married Harker. She'd known he was like this when she'd married him, dedicated to his research nearly to the point of madness, and she loved him for it, despite the confused and confounded looks her friends and family had given her. She had her ways of dealing with their issues, leading Harker back onto the proper path, and she had to admit Harker was slowly improving his habits for her sake as well. Compromise and acceptance were necessary in a marriage, her mother had always told her.

Though there were certainly issues a marriage could do without, such as nights without sleep and days upon days sitting at a desk, translating an ancient language without pause. Harker glanced up at her as she approached from behind, smiling wanly at her before returning his attention to the papers in front of him. The bags under his eyes, behind his thin glasses, gave proof to how long he'd been working.

"Shouldn't you be asleep, my dear Lady Kerrigan?"

"I could ask the same to you," Kerry noted, sidling up along next to him on the bench and looking down at the papers. "Working hard, I see. Having any luck?"

"Not so much," Harker muttered, running his hands through his hair as he glared down at the ancient writings. "So many carvings and writings left behind by the Meridians… and not a single notation on how to get inside that tower of theirs! I refuse to believe such a construct is completely solid! There must be a way in somewhere… I simply need to find it."

"You will, someday," Kerry said reassuringly, wrapping her arms around Harker's neck and pulling him closer. "I have faith in you, dear."

"Such faith is utterly unfounded, I fear," Harker murmured. But then he smiled at her. "But I appreciate the sentiment nonetheless, my love."

"I'm glad… but work or not, Meridian tower or not, you need to take breaks every now and then, dear," Kerry told him sternly. "You can't keep staying up for days straight working on your research, before passing out for a couple days to recover. It's not healthy…"

"Hmm…" Harker murmured, not taking his eyes off the notes in front of him. "You go on ahead… I'll be there in a few… in a little while."

Kerry smiled at the words. If Harker had been looking at her, he might have noted it was not the gentle, loving smile she usually had on her face, and was one with several warning signs which should have been seen, but one radiating a feeling of irritation. She slid her arms under Harker's right arm. At first her husband didn't react; his wounds made it a challenge to feel touch through that particular limb. Then she tightened her grip, and Harker's pen stopped writing mid-word as the man winced slightly.

"No," she said sternly. "You're going to bed _right now_. You need your sleep, Harker." Mild numbness in his arm or not, Kerry was still quite strong, and she knew _Harker _knew that if he didn't do as she said, she could just as easily throw him over her shoulder and force him back to their bedroom.

"Aha… I suppose some rest wouldn't be adverse," Harker admitted, trying to smile amicably. "I can get some rest tonight, and wake up bright and early to-"

"You can sleep in, dear," Kerry interrupted, making Harker sputter off weakly. "And for that matter, I think you can take a couple days off from work to fix your internal clock, to get yourself back into a decent sleeping pattern."

"Ah… hmm… I suppose a couple days off wouldn't be too much of a hamper on my work," Harker agreed cautiously. Kerry smiled again, tightening her grip just a touch more, to make sure she had her husband's attention.

"Actually, perhaps you should take a vacation," she 'suggested', and Harker sighed in defeat. She knew she had him now. "You've been working hard on your research since you recovered from your wounds. It's been almost a year and a half, and you've barely slowed down at all, even for our wedding. Why don't we take off for a week or two, and go down and visit Ellie and Levin down in Boma? It would make for a nice getaway." Kerry felt her face tinting red slightly as she leaned in and purred into her husband's ear. "Maybe we should even have one of those 'honeymoons' you said the Lost did after marrying. It certainly would help you relax a little bit, and I wouldn't mind the attention. They say Port Tanzia is positively lovely this time of year."

Now Harker smiled, an amused expression on his face, and Kerry felt a wave of relief come over her. He knew he was beaten, and knew Kerry was right, but was now choosing to play to her tune, rather than arguing or trying to counter her. People could say what they would about her husband, how he was fast-talking, devious, and surprisingly skilled at getting what he wanted or making people dance to his tune. But Kerry knew all his tricks, and while she wasn't so fluent a debater or orator, she knew how to push through Harker's often sly, often stubborn disposition. She wasn't his wife for nothing.

"You're right, my dear, you're right. I suppose I have been somewhat focused on my work the last year or so, and could use a break. Perhaps a vacation will give me perspective on something I'm missing… Ah, but visiting Levin and Miss Eleanor certainly sounds nice, though it has only been a month since we saw them last. And I have been meaning to travel to Tanzia… though for, ah, business, rather than pleasure." He gave her a sly look, and Kerry smiled back sheepishly, her face warming. But he looked down at her worriedly. "Though, I must admit, my dear Lady Kerrigan, I am worried… Should you be, ah, moving around in your condition?"

Kerry huffed in frustration. "I'm pregnant, Harker dear, not crippled. Besides, I haven't been pregnant that long. I'm not even showing yet. There's no harm in the two of us traveling a bit."

"Forgive a man for showing worry for his wife and future progeny," Harker said with a grin. "I suppose I'm just thankful to have garnered myself such a lovely woman, and am looking forward to fatherhood as well."

"Mother always hoped I'd meet a nice boy, get married, and have children," Kerry replied with a smile. "Though… I suppose she never specified the exact _order_ of the last two…"

"They haven't been born _yet_…" Harker said sheepishly. "You're still in the first trimester. That still counts, doesn't it?"

"My father didn't think so."

"I am aware," Harker muttered. "I still have the bruises to prove it. I might have died if Levin hadn't stepped in to help me… after he'd finished laughing about it all, of course."

"At least nobody can say our wedding wasn't interesting," Kerry replied with a laugh. She leaned down and kissed him lightly on the cheek. "You got all three of the goals completed in the end, Harker, and I'm perfectly happy with that, even if the pregnancy happened _before _the wedding."

"I always meant to marry you, my dear," Harker said quietly. "But I never… quite found the time for it. With all the research and the experiments, getting permissions and funding from the Guild, and dealing with the aftermath of the Alatreon… I just couldn't find the time or place to properly do what I needed to. I should have married you while we were still in Loc Lac, but it ended up turning into a shotgun wedding…"

"A shotgun… I don't know what that means."

"It's applicable to the situation, trust me."

"Hmm… Well, no matter. Back to the topic at hand: you need to get some rest, dear," Kerry said sternly, pulling herself and Harker to their feet and slowly working him away from the desk. "These all-nighters may have been… _tolerable _when we were still unwed, but with a child on the way, you need to get all the rest you can. After all, in seven months or so, there will be one more to care for besides ourselves, and I can't have you worn out when that day comes. The baby will do enough of that on its own, dear."

"Ah, yes… one more to care for…" Harker murmured, glancing down at Kerry's belly. There was a measure of pride and elation in his expression… but there was also something else. Something Kerry didn't recognize.

"Harker? Is something wrong?" Kerry asked worriedly, and Harker's eyes snapped up in surprise.

"No, no, it's… I wouldn't define it as a problem, exactly… I just…" The madman ran his hands through his hair, a note of worry in his voice. "It's just… I've been meaning to talk to you about something… rather important. I meant to do it a while ago, much as I meant to marry you long ago, but…" His gaze drifted again to her belly. "It seems time and my distractions got the better of me again."

Kerry felt a twinge of fear shoot up her spine, and her hands instinctively went to her womb. "Harker… Harker, what's wrong? What did you want to tell me?"

"It's nothing bad!" the man said quickly, holding up his hands. "Er, well, depending on who you talk to… No, no, I mean it's nothing dangerous! Nothing which would harm our child or… It's nothing like that. However, I feel I must notify you of more information which I… well, I wasn't _withholding _it, per se, I just never quite found the right moment to mention it."

"Harker, please. Just tell me."

Harker sighed, glancing worriedly between Kerry's face and the floor. "I am… ah, how to explain… You met my brother at the wedding, didn't you?"

"Yes, of course," Kerry replied impatiently. "Victor, wasn't it? You said he… he was your only family that managed to come to this world along with you. Or at least, the only one you've managed to meet up with so far, and he said he hadn't had any luck finding your parents or other siblings."

"Yes, indeed… all of that is true. It was a mercy I managed to find at least one of my kin. Well, something I have not told you is this: Victor is my eldest brother, and he is also six years older than me." Kerry stared at Harker expectantly, and the madman sighed wearily. "Very well: I am… I am the youngest child in a family with ten children."

Kerry had to admit her jaw dropped for a moment. "_Ten children_? Really? That's… Wait, wait, hold on," Kerry muttered. "You told me Victor was your oldest brother."

"Indeed."

"...And you also said you were the youngest of your family."

"Also true."

"But he's only six years older than you! How could you be the youngest of _ten _with only six years to…?" The huntress sputtered to a halt, and Harker could see the gears in her head turning in realization.

"I see you've hit upon what I wished to tell you," Harker sighed. "Victor is the eldest of my siblings… and also the eldest of triplets, all boys. But they were only the first. Two years after that, my mother gave birth to twins, my eldest sisters. Two years more and there was another pair of twins, both boys. Another two years and my mother gave birth to triplets once more, including my youngest sisters and myself, the last. After that… well, after that, my mother had quite enough, and I heard her threats to my father were rather inventive."

Kerry stood in silence for several moments, her eyes wide in shock. She began to teeter a bit, and Harker yelped, leaping forward to catch her and help her into a chair. "I don't… I mean, is there… maybe it was just a coincidence?"

Harker smiled ruefully. "Hah, if only that were so… But, well, the rest of my family only solidifies the certainty of the situation. My father, you see, was the third born of nine siblings, almost all of them similarly grouped in twins and triplets. His siblings were just as, ah, abundant as he, with Aunt Shelley giving birth to fourteen children of her own in the span of eight years. A strong woman, that… My Uncle Walt was the only odd one out, being the only single-born child in the lot… and even he ended up with eight children, two clusters of quadruplets. All in all, my grandparents ended up being the proud patriarch and matriarch of a family of over a hundred children and grandchildren. Family reunions were… populous, to say the least."

Kerry sat, stunned, words trying to come up, but catching in her throat each time she tried to say them. Her hands once again dropped to her belly, pressing up against it. "So… you… I'm going to give birth to more than one?"

"I'm not, ah, exceptionally learned in birth rates and genetics," Harker muttered, scratching the back of his head. "But, well, if precedence is any indication, then… odds are good you'll give birth to between two and four children. More than that is unlikely… though I suppose my cousin Greyson had septuplets…" Kerry didn't reply, instead staring down at her lap, and Harker sighed ruefully. "I should have warned you of this before, my love, but it seems time and a lack of caution got the better of me…" Harker muttered apologetically. "I suppose it's fairly obvious by now, but… I come from a rather, ah, _fertile _family. And I fear I, like my kin, will prove to be very… prolific."

Kerry sat in silence for a long time, letting the information Harker had given her sink in. She had always wanted a family of her own, that was certain, assuming she managed to survive her hunting career. And upon meeting Harker and taking him as her apprentice and eventually hunting partner… well, the idea had certainly not grown duller. Though their rush into married life and imminent parenthood had been abrupt, Kerry had been looking forward to a calm, peaceful life with her husband (at least, as peaceful as life with Harker could be). But this… she'd expected one child. Just one. Maybe another couple as the years went by. And now she should expect at least two, with upwards of seven depending on how fortunate (or, perhaps, unfortunate) she turned out to be? And that was if she only got pregnant once… Was this what she really wanted? The promise of a small horde of children which would likely be just as wild and hard to control as Harker himself?

It took her only a few moments to realize that, in fact, it was. She remembered all too clearly the years when her infamous title of 'Companion Killer' had followed her around, a shadow taunting her in her loneliness and despair. She'd spend almost her entire life after her apprenticeship on her own… until she'd met Harker. After that had come Ellie, and Levin, and many more. The idea of filling her life, her time, and her home with people she loved and cared for was something she'd almost believed impossible before meeting Harker, and now that it was available to her, she realized she wanted nothing more.

Much to Harker's shock, she found herself laughing softly at the prospect. She could give birth to a small collection of children, all of them with the possibility at being just as… _unique _as her husband. Considering the reputation Harker had with the Guild, somewhere between fame for battling the Alatreon, and infamy for the destructive results of his experiments, she could very well be declared a public enemy for unleashing such a force on the world. With the way rumors and stories spread in the world as it was, a hundred years from now she might be considered the terrible matriarch to a family of diabolical mad scientists… But, no. For now, she'd be perfectly happy for being the loving mother of her and Harker's children, no matter how many of them they ended up having. With a smile, she pushed herself back to her feet, wrapping her arms around Harker's neck as her husband looked at her worriedly.

"It's fine, dear," she told him reassuringly. "You just caught me off guard a little. I suppose I should have expected as much, as strange of a man as you are. It doesn't matter how many children we end up having, I will love them all: because they'll be _ours_."

Harker heaved a sigh of relief, and Kerry could see a lot of stress had fallen from the man's shoulders at her words. Apparently he had been worrying about this far more than Kerry would have ever guessed. "Thank goodness… forgive me, my love, but I had feared your reaction to my admission would be far less forgiving than it was. I'm aware of the difficulties of childbirth, and… well, giving birth to _multiple _children rather than just one seems a rather loaded request."

"I'll be fine, dear. I'm a tough girl, after all. You of all people should know that." Harker chuckled sheepishly at the words, and Kerry patted his shoulder. "Now, for the last time, can we go to bed? Revelations aside, we both need rest, and we won't be getting it here, standing ankle-deep in crumpled papers."

Harker chuckled at the words, and allowed himself to be led out of the room towards their bedroom. The bed was cool and comfortable, and as Kerry snuggled close to Harker, she had to admit, yes, it was far better to sleep with her husband next to her than it was to sleep by herself. She knew she should enjoy this as long as she could; life would certainly be hectic once the babies were born. Who knew how often she and Harker would have moments like this again, between the children and their research?

"I suppose that's another reason for you to take a break from your work for a couple weeks, dear," Kerry said quietly as the pair lay next to each other.

"What's that?" Harker asked, his voice finally showing signs of weariness.

"The babies. We'll need to make room for them. This house is simply too cluttered for children. We'll need to add on to the house to make room for them all. Or rather, _you'll _need to add onto the house."

Harker raised an eyebrow at her and smirked. "All by myself? With one arm?"

"It'll make for a good distraction, and get you back on a regular sleep schedule. Besides, they say hard labor helps develop ideas. And I can help you with the heavy lifting if you need me to, my dear frail husband. If all else fails, you might ask some of the other Lost engineers and mechanics in Nastre to help, since they seem to jump at the chance to show off to you."

"How encouraging," Harker chuckled. The pair of them lay in silence for a while, slowly drifting towards sleep and listening to the sounds of their house settling around them. But as Kerry began to fall into the warm embrace of slumber, savoring the feeling of Harker's arms around her, her husband shifted slightly, muttering quietly to himself. "Lady Kerrigan…"

"Sleep, dear."

"Mmm… yes. It's just, you said we'd need to make room for the children. But you specifically said, 'make room for them all.' _Them all_. You made it sound like over two or three…"

"Hmm…"

"How many children did you want to have exactly, Lady Kerrigan?"

Kerry smiled to herself. "Well, eleven has always been my lucky number…" She suppressed a chuckle as she felt Harker flinch next to her.

"Ah. Hmm… _Eleven_? Really? I don't… well, there's nothing _wrong _with that, per se, but… erm."

Kerry was enjoying this. It was so infrequently that Harker was left speechless by something, and she always savored it when it happened; she found Harker… _cute _when he was dumbfounded. But that was enough teasing for the night. She'd meant it when she'd said he needed sleep, and Harker didn't need to be kept awake by the thought of having near a dozen children darting around the house. She leaned forward, kissing him gently, which stopped his sputtering.

"Well, maybe not that many. But I wouldn't mind having a fair few. We'll see how this first pregnancy goes before thinking about more. Now don't pout, dear. You brought this on yourself."

Harker huffed irritably, but chuckled soon after. "I suppose I did. I'm certainly pleased you're taking to it so well, at least enough to make jokes at my expense. But… I do suppose this gives me a rare opportunity. I have been meaning to do a study on genetics and heritage. If we have enough children, I could probably start some research into-"

Kerry quickly reached up and smacked Harker upside the head. "No, Harker. You are not using our children for your experiments or research, no matter how many we end up having."

"I was only suggesting-"

"Don't make me sic my father on you again, dear. Or would you rather I extend your mandatory vacation? I can keep you from getting back to your research for as long as you like."

"Urk. Erm, yes my love, of course. No experimenting on the children."

"I'm glad we understand each other," Kerry replied with a smile. "Now go to sleep, dear."

"Yes, of course. Goodnight, my dear Lady Kerrigan."

"Goodnight, Harker."

* * *

**Author's Note: Please Review! Moving the release schedule to Sundays, so I can actually reply to reviews in a timely manner.**

**Quick reminder that, if you have a prompt or idea for a one-shot, hit me up and let me know! I need ideas and things to write! And while I'm thinking on it, if anyone out there has any specific monsters they'd like to see characters fight, write that down too. I don't want to get sloppy when I need to write action scenes. No elder dragons though, let's keep it simple. Hoenn already suggested the Phantom Uragaan, which should be interesting…**

**Also, I have a temporary opportunity for my readers! An upcoming chapter (I say upcoming, but it's actually going to be quite a while before it is posted) has the opportunity for four reader OCs to make an appearance! I don't really need a detailed background or anything, just their basic appearance, armor, and weapon. They're only going to be in maybe five or six paragraphs, so like I said, it's really doesn't need to be much. First come, first served!**

**One last thing: to those of you that send a message as a guest, **_**not logged in**_**, I cannot reply to your reviews! So if you have a question you'd like answered, I'm afraid you'll have to log in properly to do it!**

**Reading: **_**Order of the Stick**_** by Rich Burlew  
Playing: Pokemon X, MH3U  
Listening: Explosions in the Sky, CatHatFiddle, Nightmares on Wax**


	3. Experiment

Experiment

_Disclaimer: Monster Hunter is copyright Capcom. Most of the characters in this story are mine. Many characters belong to others, as stated in previous chapters._

_Edited by: Hoenn Master96_

_This one-shot is CANON with The Lost Civilization_

* * *

**Four Years Since the Fall of the Alatreon**

* * *

It was a humid, cloudy day, with a cool nip in the air, but that was to be expected in the winter, even in a sub-tropical climate. The sky was dark though, despite being so close to midday, but it wasn't the threat of rain which filled the clouds. The rolling of thunder grumbled menacingly in the sky above, not enough to warrant a real fear of lightning, but enough to keep a watchful eye up just in case.

Levin wasn't enjoying it at all. He'd be more apt for this kind of inclement weather someplace else: maybe inside a cavern, listening to the dull roar of the skies, or at an inn, talking with friends. Preferably though, back with Ellie in their new home in Perir Town, maybe cuddled up near the fire…

But that's not where he was now, oh no! Not at all! Instead, here he was, several miles north of Hearth, standing not someplace relatively safe and low to the ground, but on top of the Meridian Tower, the tallest, flattest structure Levin had ever seen since awakening in the hunter's world! Of course he'd find himself below a budding thunderstorm at the highest point in a hundred miles, with only a few sparse aqueducts around to act as possible lightning rods!

"You couldn't have picked someplace lower down the mountain to do this?" he asked, looking down. A few feet away, Harker looked up from what he was doing. The former hunter knelt in front of a machine he had built, some five-foot-tall mechanical contraption he had been constructing for several months now. He had no armor on, as he was no longer a hunter, and wore a simple coat, with his right arm hooked into a makeshift sling under the jacket, while the left continued to tinker with the machine.

"You've asked me that several times, my friend, and my answer remains the same: this is the most effective location to test the machine, and if things turn sour, I would like to avoid damaging any surroundings…"

"Yeah, yeah… and there's no more durable location for your tests than on a massive slab of Meridian stone… I know, I know…"

"No need to be impatient, my friend," Harker laughed. "Trust me, when the test is finished, I think the weather will be the last thing on your mind."

"I certainly hope so…" Levin grumbled, irate that Harker always seemed to enjoy picking out the most out-of-the-way places to travel, especially when the two of them journeyed out together to gather supplies or test Harker's experiments.

Of course, he couldn't just blame Harker. The Guild had pretty much hired him specifically for these kinds of things, once he'd managed to get back into hunting. They were worried about what Harker got up to, and not without reason. His work for the Guild (and his personal projects, for that matter), tended to have the madman running around to all sorts of places, gathering materials and information from wherever he could get it, but he tended to leave a small trail of devastation in his wake when he was working on a project, and the Guild was almost always left in the dark about how or why such things tended to end in ruin. Kerry was willing to give the Guild information about what Harker got up to at their home in Nastre, but was often absent when the madman journeyed outside of town, preferring to remain behind to care for their children instead. Harker just wasn't giving them the details and information they wanted.

So they'd hired Levin to do it for them. It had been four and a half years since the death of the Alatreon, and Harker's reputation was still bordering the line between fame and infamy. Levin was one of the few people who Harker trusted enough to keep closeby, and was still willing to stay close to Harker, despite the danger in simply being in the retired hunter's vicinity. Of course, Levin had been hesitant to take the job. He liked Harker, and being paid - rather well for that matter - to stick near his friend and keep watch on him didn't sound like too bad of a deal. But at the same time, he was pretty much _spying _on Harker, and that didn't sit well with him.

Thankfully, both the Guild _and _Harker seemed amenable about the whole thing. The Guild didn't want intimate details about Harker, or his deepest, darkest secrets. They just wanted somebody out there with the madman who was willing to give them more detailed reports than Harker had been offering them, so they weren't left blowing in the wind. And Harker didn't mind at all either, when Levin had told him what the Guild had asked of him. In fact, the madman seemed to enjoy the idea, considering it a challenge: how much information could he give Levin, who would give it to the Guild, without giving away all his secrets and keeping his results a surprise? Levin had been worried that his friend wouldn't give him enough to keep the Guild happy, Harker still had a tendency to ramble when excited, so Levin was able to gather enough information to satisfy the Guild of the madman's doings.

However, there were other downsides to the work. Often enough, Levin would return to Perir with singed hair and a few new wounds which weren't the result of some harrowing large monster battle. And he was no scientist, so half the things Harker said or did went right over his head, and the Guild was occasionally left frustrated at Levin's inadequate reports, not being able to decipher Harker's reasoning or choices, though how they expected Levin to know any better was beyond him. The most prominent downside, of course, was his absence from Ellie. The pair of them had only been married for just under three years now, and even the short one or two weeks this kind of work demanded was taxing enough. Normally the huntress would have simply come with him on his and Harker's little escapades, if for no other reason than to visit Kerry, but that had changed too, since Ellie was now four months pregnant with their first child.

Oh, yes, Ellie had been miffed about that. Not that she didn't want children; it was nothing like that. It just meant she was essentially out of commission from hunting for nine months, and for a hunter, nine months of inactivity was positively torturous. Not to mention Levin had only managed to get his hunter's license back last spring; the pair had been hoping to have a few years together, hunting and traveling again like they had when they were only rookies, before settling down. But that plan had gone out the window in late summer, not long after a Gobul hunt, when a few bouts of morning sickness for Ellie had alerted them to a rather abrupt change in their life plans. Ellie had been cursing about air philters for some reason…

But they were adjusting and preparing. It may not have been entirely planned or expected, but the pair of them were taking to it excitedly.

Of course, Ellie wasn't going to just spend nine months sitting around, gestating their progeny while Levin ran around doing work to keep them going. In the meantime, she'd decided to help her parents, Mary and Daniel Geisel, with their printing business, which had certainly received a lot of work from all over the place thanks to their reintroduction of the printing press into society. Books weren't too uncommon in the hunting world, but providing a more efficient method of printing had been a massive boon.

But Ellie had surprised him when she'd come home one day with news that she had a plan to turn a small side building near the printing business into a shop of her own.

Apparently she'd concocted some scheme to make a sort of… sundries store for hunters, a place where they could trade materials and carves for other materials they needed. She'd sell maps, guides, basic hunting equipment, goods normal shops endorsed by the Guild sold. But unlike the Guild, she'd also gather carves: things like horns, scales, claws and the like, maybe even plates and gems if she could get her hands on them, and then trade them away for other materials from far away hunting grounds. The Guild tended to keep any monster carves hunters sold to them; Ellie was selling or trading them back to hunters instead.

Levin didn't quite understand the details; business was never his forte. But it seemed to be working. His wife had somehow gotten her hands on some wyvern stones and plates and the like, which she used to trade for bird wyvern gems and other things which could be plucked from the bodies of monsters in nearby areas. Then she'd trade those to caravans passing through for different rare goods from distant locales, which she'd trade again here in town to those who didn't want to go a long way for the materials they wanted, or fight a particular monster they found irritating. It was a circular process, with Ellie at the center of it, cutting deals with the hunters and merchants who came looking for certain materials. Apparently she was quite the shrewd negotiator, judging by some grumbling Levin had heard in the local tavern, and soon enough Ellie's small shop was gaining popularity. Levin believed it; with all the hunters who had been gathering in Perir the last few months, there were plenty of customers who would be willing to pay quite a bit for an elusive plate, gem, or other material they were desperate to get.

It wasn't making the best money in the world, but between Ellie's foray into the world of entrepreneurship, and Levin's work as a hunter and his 'spying' for the Guild, they seemed to be making enough money that they'd be able to care for their future child without too much worry. At least, in the monetary sense. Levin didn't know how Harker and Kerry did it, though; the pair of scientists were somehow making enough money through their work to care for not one, but _five _children! Kerry had managed to give birth to triplets a couple years ago, and just last year went and gave birth to twins! Five little things just as excitable as Harker himself running around, and Kerry seemed perfectly content with the whole thing… Levin didn't understand it at all.

But he supposed those were concerns for another day. Levin shivered a bit as a gust of chill air brushed past him; they were far enough south that the winter didn't call for much more than a slight cooling of air, but at such high altitudes, cold winds bit into him frequently. At least his armor was fairly well-insulated against the cold weather.

He'd managed to get himself a nice set of Gobul armor since he'd started hunting again, materials he'd garnered from his and Ellie's last hunt together before her pregnancy. He wasn't as fond of it as he had been of his old Rathian armor, but it fit nicely, and he'd gotten a good deal on it. And he could see a lot better without the face guard the Rathian armor had sported, which was a plus. It had a lot of 'menacing' spikes sprouting up from the pauldrons, which he thought were a little ridiculous, but he supposed they went nicely enough with his switch axe, a black, twisted weapon made from parts of the World Eater. He'd been hesitant to use the materials at first, as the villagers in Boma could've sold them to help rebuild the village. But they'd insisted, giving them to him as a going away present when he and Ellie had moved to Perir. He'd had to travel a distance to find someone who could work those materials into a viable weapon, but he had to admit he was rather pleased with the results; the thing looked incredibly menacing, and proved to be quite powerful at the same time.

It would certainly help if something nasty showed up to give them trouble, that was for sure. Harker couldn't fight since his right arm was still partially disabled from the Alatreon's fangs tearing into it. And Levin… he reached up and rubbed his right shoulder, just above where the Dark Metal limb merged into flesh. It had been… what, four years since he'd started training to control the limbs, and he still wasn't completely used to them. He'd had a half year of practice actually using the dark limbs in official hunts, but a Gobul was the nastiest thing he'd fought so far. If anything worse than that showed up, he had to admit he wasn't sure if the limbs would hold out.

Levin shook his head. No sense worrying about that now; they'd cross that bridge when they came to it, _if _they came to it, and hopefully they wouldn't anytime soon. For now, Levin returned his attention to Harker's contraption as his friend continued to poke and prod at wires, while scouring a notebook below him.

The machine was a mass of metal and wires. That was all he could really decipher from the object, though there were a few discrepancies a more learned man could use to determine the machine's true purpose. Clear glass tubes pumped a pale, bluish-white fluid up and down the side of the contraption, sliding in and out of the machine at regular intervals. At the top of the machine, a sort of thick glass dome capped off the whole thing, filled within with a dark, misty haze of some kind. Deep in the center, Levin could make out something glowing faintly through the fog.

"About done?" he asked.

"Almost," Harker replied. "Those airships Silas' company has been producing are becoming smoother every day, but they seem to lack the care I'd like. It seems I can hardly bring any of my machines here for testing without the ride knocking one or two dozen things loose. I've learned my lesson from the last time…"

"It took me weeks to regrow my eyebrows," Levin muttered sourly, remembering his and Harker's last trip up to the Tower. "I have to admit though, I've never seen green fire before…"

"And you may never again! I have yet to figure out how exactly that happened. Certain minerals burn green, such as copper and salt, but to create a pillar of fire like that, considering the circumstances of the experiment… Perhaps the Lady Kerrigan would be able to figure it out. She's been looking into the flammability of certain ores and minerals recently."

"What is Kerry doing to keep herself busy these days?" Levin asked idly as Harker tinkered. He was getting sick of just standing around while Harker did the finishing touches on his machine. "Besides mothering, of course."

"Would that I could be there to aid in her 'mothering,' my friend," Harker sighed despondently. "If there is one thing about this 'Lost madness' which I despise over anything else, it's the pull of my desire to experiment and test my works. It was simpler to put up with when we were hunters, and before the children, when it was just her and I, and we could go wherever we wanted. Not that I regret our progeny of course, nothing of the sort! I would rather be at home, with our children, seeing to their upbringing… but at the same time, I am _compelled _to see this work through. It is this… desperate _need _to follow my projects through to fruition, even if I know in my heart there are things more important…"

Levin nodded somberly, and patted his friend on the shoulder, trying to be comforting. "I'm sure she understands, Harker. She's a smart girl after all, and stern too; if she really had a problem with it, she'd tell you, no hesitation. And your kids adore you, even with… maybe _especially because _of these experiments of yours. They really take after you, though that might not be the best thing ever… You've got a good family Harker, and as long as you're trying to do your best by them, they'll love you all the same."

"A greater gift I could not have asked for, even in my most conceited moments," Harker said with a small smile. Then he sighed and shook his head. "But I have not answered your question, have I? The dear Lady Kerrigan seems to have found her true passion in her work, and has been studying natural sciences with an admirable enthusiasm the last couple years. Geology, biology, anatomy, some chemistry, that sort of thing; when not 'mothering', of course."

"Hopefully she's not being as destructive as you tend to be."

"No, no. Lady Kerrigan has always been a more… cautious type than myself. She has had her fair share of volatile reactions, but nothing so concussive as most of mine. I have no illusions that if she were as inclined towards explosive incidents as myself, the Guild really would classify us as walking disasters, as it has been threatening to do. But she seems to be leaning towards studying the world as it is, and how it works, rather than using that knowledge to experiment and craft as I do. She seems to have taken on exceptional fascination with studying how monsters interact with the world around them, and how they'd come to influence it since their sudden appearance during our time."

"What's that mean?" Levin asked curiously, as a spark jumped from the machine, jolting Harker's hand. The madman hissed, cursing under his breath as he shook the appendage, before returning to his tinkering.

"Well, certain people out there, Lost and Therian alike, may have the perception that the world would be better off if we simply had the hunters summarily execute every last monster which exists, thus removing the threat of the creatures from our lives. This feeling has had a resurgence since the Lost appeared, due to their stories of a world which worked just fine without monster presence. I'm sure _you _can understand the sentiment."

"A bit…" Levin admitted.

"Well, despite the idea being pleasant to some, it just wouldn't work. The world around us has adapted to the existence of these monsters, and simply ridding the world of them could be dire. Ecosystems, niches, even the weather itself could suffer! Just think: this world likely has millions of Lagiacrus swimming in the oceans and rivers, each of which can generate and store hundreds of thousands of volts of electricity. If they all simply were killed… all that potential energy has to go somewhere, my friend, and there is no guess as to what effects it could have on the environment. And elder dragons… well, they are an issue all on their own. Jhen Mohran kick up sandstorms in their wake. What would happen if all of them were wiped out? Why, just think of the entropic consequences of such an action! The energy and entropy of a system must maintain balance! If creatures so massive and powerful as to affect the very weather were to be removed, then-"

Levin sighed as Harker continued to rant, going on about entropy and thermodynamics and a hundred other things that Levin couldn't understand. The madman finally petered out a bit when he realized that Levin had a blank look on his face, and the switch axe user shook his head. "I can't even guess at the consequences of wiping out all the monsters in the world."

"Few can, or even dare try. But that is where the lovely Lady Kerrigan has turned her attention. She seeks to study monsters and their influence on the world around them. A noble desire, and I look forward to seeing what she can accomplish. Though it may have to wait before she can really let loose in her research… she is wholeheartedly putting a majority of her attention into the raising of our children at the moment. A decision which I fully support, mind you. But I've been pestering the Guild, not to mention the hunters I've hired to work for me, to send us monster corpses for her to dissect, and that seems to please her. She's been filling up notebooks of her own with the fruits of her research into monster biology, though she aches to study monsters in the wild, rather than dead on a table."

"I've seen those notes," Levin muttered. "They're interesting, sure, but they're covered in bloodstains."

"Not Lady Kerrigan's, I assure you."

"I figured, but that doesn't exactly fix the issue," Levin muttered with a sigh. Looking down at the machine, he reached forward and poked at one of the tubes filled with the pale white substance. "So what's all this in the pipes?" he asked, and Harker replied without even turning about.

"Crimson Qurupeco extract."

"Crimson… _extract_?" Levin muttered, pulling his hand away from the tubes warily. "Now, when you say 'extract'…"

"Trust me, my friend: you do not wish to know the details."

"Ew…"

"Indeed."

"And the rest of it?" Levin asked, motioning to the rest of the machine.

"Mostly metal and a cocktail of chemicals I've brewed myself. A lot of the size and weight is for the safeties, shielding, and redundancies, though; Lady Kerrigan insisted. I meant to collect Fulgarbugs too, but Zinogre are hard to come by… Oh, and a Lagiacrus Sapphire at the core of it all, with a few D-shockers from an Ivory added for oscillating purposes."

Levin's eyes popped wide open at the words. "What… woah, wait, what?! D-shockers from an Ivory Lagiacrus and a _sapphire_? Where the hell did you get those? I heard about the incident with Rena in the Flooded Forest, so I know about the Crimson, but…"

"You hadn't heard?" Harker asked, turning in surprise. "I bought them from Eleanor, your wife."

"What… you… but her shop doesn't sell _Lagia Sapphires_! I've seen a couple shockers go through, sure, and the occasional wyvern stone and plate, but…"

"I put in a special order," Harker replied simply. "And she put a call out through her contacts to find one for me. Honestly, I don't know how she managed to create such an… efficient business in such small time. Perhaps her fame grants her easier access to things than others might be able to garner… But anyway, she had one for me in but a month. Though, she clearly trusted me about as far as you do, my friend. Normally, she's willing to give me a 'friendship discount', but she charged me an arm and a leg for this one… ah, no offense, my friend."

"None taken," Levin muttered, rubbing his right shoulder again.

"Oh, yes, and one last thing I needed… or rather, three things, to provide the ignition energy I desired." Harker knelt down, unlatching a small box in front of him. The lid popped open quickly, and Levin leaned over to look within. Lying on soft cushioning were three sturdy glass objects, within which swirled a bluish fluid which churned and roiled. At the end of each glass bottle was a metal cap, holding the swirling substance in, but providing several thin valves which would allow the release of the fluid's energy. Levin recognized the objects immediately.

"Switch axe phials?"

"Lightning phials, to be precise," Harker replied, pulling one out and holding it up to observe it.

"Yeah, I know; I still use my Lagi switch axe sometimes… Don't they only sell those in pairs, though?"

"Usually. However, I specifically requested three."

"Why do you need two spares?"

Harker turned, giving Levin a quizzical look, before nodding in realization. "Ah, yes, I'd nearly forgotten: switch axe hunters only use one phial at a time, with one replacing the other when the first is depleted… right, right. No, no, my friend, there are no spares. I plan to use all three at once!"

"_Three_? At _once_? What the hell would you need that much energy to-" Levin paused and frowned thoughtfully. "So, hold on… Crimson Qurupeco extract, D-shockers, a Lagia Sapphire, and three lightning phials to top it all off… What the hell did you build, Harker?"

Harker opened his mouth to reply, then paused and gave Levin a wicked grin. "Well… every mad scientist needs a death ray, don't they?"

"Harker…" Levin growled, and the madman laughed, raising his hands.

"Don't worry, I promise to use it for good."

"You're not helping your argument! I promised the Guild I was supposed to rein you in from doing those kinds of things, remember?"

"Oh, calm down, my friend," Harker laughed. "Why don't I show you what this machine _really _does before you decide whether or not my intentions are worthy of siccing the Guild on me? I do believe you will be impressed with the results!"

"Assuming the machine works, you mean," Levin muttered.

"What, you don't have faith in me?" Harker asked, pretending to pout.

"_Green fire_."

"Hm… well, I suppose that's a good point. Oh, fine then. I've been more careful with this project than those before; just let me finish up here, and I'll prove it to you!" With that, the madman set to work again, putting the finishing touches on his machine… whatever it did. It didn't take long, thankfully; Harker had apparently been nearly done, and all that was left was the installation of the lightning phials.

So, with the phials loaded in, the former hunter darted around the machine, checking and double-checking his connections against his notes, an excited smile growing ever larger as he continued. Then the notebook slapped shut, and the madman rushed over to his supply box, digging through it for a short moment, before pulling something out.

It was a control rod of some kind, made of metal, with a long, glowing crystal of some kind pulsing dimly at the end. Thin wires and tubes lined the sides of the thing, save for a small grip Harker had his hand wrapped around. A few small levers and buttons were located under the finger grips, from what Levin could see, easily controlled by whoever held it. With a dramatic flourish, Harker held up the rod for Levin to see, grinning ecstatically.

"And here it is! The final piece of my experiment! With this, we can begin the test proper, and you can see what sort of work I've been up to the last year or so!" He began to reach into his pockets, digging around for something. "Now all we need to do is set the draw, and I can activate it-"

"Hold on, hold on," Levin cut the man off, earning a scowl from his friend. Levin pointed at the ground beneath them. "We're testing it here? Now?"

"Of course; where else would we do it?"

Levin looked at the machine, then back to Harker, before reaching forward and grabbing the madman by the sleeve. As his friend sputtered indignantly, Levin snapped at him. "No, Harker! I have had far too much experience with your tests to risk blowing myself up again, especially if you've got not one, but _three _lightning phials in there! If we're going to test this, we're doing it from a distance!"

Harker tried to argue, but Levin remained stern. Finally, after several minutes of bickering, the madman was forced to concede, and the two began to stride away from the machine. Harker paused, turning around at twenty yards, but Levin pressed him on. The madman paused twice more, hoping to remain close, but Levin refused to allow him, continuing to drag him across the pale stone tower. Finally they stopped, almost two hundred yards away, Harker's machine a pale blue and black dot in the distance.

"This seems unnecessary," Harker mumbled sourly, and Levin glared at him.

"As someone who's been blown up by a switch axe phial explosion once, I'm not about to risk doing it again. If you want to activate your machine, you do it from here or not at all."

"Oh, fine! The machine's effects should theoretically reach this far anyway. May I proceed with my experiment, Mr. Picky?"

"Go right ahead," Levin replied, crossing his arms.

Harker nodded, holding up the small rod and pressing a button on it. At the tip, the pale crystal shard began to glow. Levin looked back towards the machine in the distance, and noted the glass orb at the top of the metal construct was glowing as well, increasing in intensity as the crystal on the control rod did. He watched nervously as Harker stared down at the rod, waiting for some sign Levin couldn't see. There didn't seem to be an indicator or anything on it, so he wasn't sure what Harker was waiting for, but he hoped his friend knew what he was doing, especially now that there were three lightning phials at risk of detonating. With Harker at the wheel of this experiment, detonation was not exactly the least likely result…

Both the crystal and the machine continued to glow brighter and brighter with each passing moment, and Levin found himself growing increasingly uncomfortable as they did. He wished Harker was as forthcoming about what exactly he was trying to accomplish as he had been when they'd first met, so at least Levin would be able to know what was coming, but the man had grown more secretive in the last few years. Though, Levin wasn't sure if that was due to the Guild keeping tabs on him, or if he just liked surprising people with the results. Either way, Levin wasn't looking forward to whatever the machine did.

Several minutes passed, and the machine continued to glow brighter, with Harker still showing no signs of his intent. A dull hum could be heard coming from the machine as Harker's creation shivered from the intensity of… whatever it was doing. Levin wasn't sure if it was nervousness or something the machine had done, but the air around him seemed to be growing… greasy. That was the only way he could describe it. Even the sky above him seemed to grow darker, though that might have just been an illusion from the machine, which was now glowing with an intensity rivalling a flare… or an energy blast from a switch axe, now that Levin thought about it…

"It's almost ready," Harker muttered, looking up from the rod. "All we need to do is drop a draw down and it'll be ready."

"A draw?" Levin asked. From out of his pocket, Harker pulled out a small, disc-shaped object, and handed it to Levin. It was made of metal, with a dark black, stone-like object in the center.

"It's a voltstone," Harker explained. "It's the 'flint' from a Crimson Qurupeco. I find it's rather fragile, but it works surprisingly well as a conduit. A D-Shocker from an Ivory would work better but…" The madman chuckled sheepishly. "I was… running a bit low on funds by the time I got around to making it, so I had to use other materials instead. It should work just fine, though, or at the very least I'll learn something from this whole thing."

"What do I do with it?" Levin asked nervously.

"Throw it! Somewhere far, please, and not towards the main machine. It'll be the focus point for when I-"

Both men froze where they stood as a powerful roar abruptly sounded in the sky. Levin's eyes darted around fearfully, and his hand went instinctively to the hilt of his switch axe. He knew that roar: it was the call of a Rath! The rumbling of the clouds and the humming of Harker's machine had dulled the noise, so he couldn't tell if it was a Rathian or Rathalos, but either way it meant trouble. He turned to face Harker again, intent on telling the madman to shut his machine down so they could hide.

But it was too late. A dark shadow pressed through the clouds, and a huge, winged shape dropped from the sky, sweeping towards the two. The creature screeched at them menacingly as it circled them, its red eyes gleaming in anticipation as it spiraled down closer and closer to the pair. A jolt of lightning rippled through the clouds, and the light reflected off the wyvern's brilliant scales as it flew closer, gleaming a brilliant gold. Levin's jaw dropped in shock; he couldn't believe it. A Gold Rathian!

"We need to run!" he said quickly, reaching out to grab Harker's shoulder. "Where's the nearest edge? If we hurry, we can get off the tower, and escape to the caves-"

"Oh, let her come," Harker replied nonchalantly. "She'll give me something nice to use as a target."

Levin turned, staring at Harker as though the man had grown a second head. "_What_? A _target_? This isn't the time for your experiments, Harker! What do you-"

The ground underneath Levin shivered, pulling his attention back to the Gold Rathian as the wyvern landed, its bulk shaking the earth below it, despite it being Meridian stone. Flames began to blaze along the creature's maw, and it bared its fangs at the humans in what Levin could only describe of as an anticipatory grin.

"The draw!" Harker hissed, grabbing Levin's arm and motioning to the Rathian. "Use the draw! When the Rathian is holding still, throw the draw under it! Trust me! I'm certain this will work!"

Levin looked back at Harker, and his friend had a look of absolute certainty on his face. Reluctantly, he sighed and nodded, and Harker grinned enthusiastically. It wasn't as though they had many other choices. Levin looked back towards the wyvern fearfully, as the creature began to make its way towards them. The Rathian growled at the pair of them as it strode confidently across the pale stone. Levin's grip tightened nervously on the 'draw' Harker had given him, waiting for the wyvern to stop walking, and hoping beyond hope that Harker's confidence in his experiments wasn't misplaced for once.

The Gold Rathian paused, rearing its head back to unleash a powerful roar. At the motion, Levin lunged towards it, heaving the draw over his head and hurling it through the air towards the wyvern.

But he miscalculated the weight of the draw, and the disc-shaped object flew a couple feet further than he'd planned it to. It was just far enough that, when the Rathian swung its head forward to unleash its thunderous roar, the draw sailed right into its mouth, bouncing off the creature's tongue, and dropping into the gold monster's throat. The Rathian only managed to bellow out a short burst of its roar, before the draw caught in its throat. The beast squeaked in surprise, beginning to cough wildly, reeling back and wheezing, trying to dislodge the draw from its throat.

"Oh… um, it wasn't supposed to go in her mouth," Harker muttered worriedly. Levin winced at the words, reaching into his pouch. He had a few flash bombs at his disposal; if he used them well, he might be able to distract the Gold Rathian long enough for the two of them to run.

"Get ready Harker!" he shouted as the Rathian finished coughing, and turned its furious red eyes towards the pair of them again. There was nothing on the ground in front of the Rathian; the creature must have swallowed the draw. "I'll blind it, and then we can-"

"Hold on. Let's see if it still works."

"What are you-"

Harker was pointing the rod in his hands toward the Gold Rathian, the crystal tip glowing brilliantly, and with a quick nod and an excited smirk, he pushed the central button, and the crystal pulsed brightly.

The world in front of Levin seemed to erupt into light as a massive lightning bolt dropped from the sky, crashing into the Rathian's spine. The wyvern screeched in pain as hundreds of thousands of volts of electricity ripped through its body, and the beast reeled backwards in agony. Scales and plates were torn from the wyvern's back as the brilliant white energy shredded into it, the lightning vanishing as quickly as it came, leaving tendrils of lingering electricity rippling through the beast's body. The Rathian shivered in pain, stumbling a bit but still alive despite the damage it had taken. Its eyes steeled again in anger, flames licking at its lips as it growled at the pair menacingly.

"Ha ha! It worked! Wonderful! Though I suppose one bolt wasn't enough…" Levin gaped in shock at the words, and stared in horror at his friend as the madman grinned wildly. Had Harker… actually _called down lightning_? Is that what his machine had been designed to do? Two hundred yards away, the machine was glowing brilliantly, the internal light pulsing. His friend giggled madly to himself as he held out the control rod, aiming it towards the Rathian once more. "I suppose this is a good chance to conduct another test, now isn't it: how many bolts of lightning does it take to kill a Gold Rathian? Let's find out, shall we?" And with that, the madman pushed the button on the rod, and the crystal pulsed again.

Once more, a massive lightning bolt crashed down from the sky, punching into the Rathian's body. The golden creature reeled, howling in agony as the voltage lanced across its body, and even more shining scales clattered to the ground around it. A wide, gaping swath of flesh was exposed along its back now, hissing and steaming and blackened from the heat of the lightning. The wyvern wheezed and moaned in agony, staggering backwards, but fire still blazed in its maw as it refocused its gaze on the humans. But Harker simply nodded, and pressed the button again.

The lightning crashed down a third time, catching the beast's right wing and tearing through leathery webbing, but still the Rathian refused to yield or run. A fourth time, and the wyvern's threatening growls turned to pained whines. A fifth time, and the beast actually managed to launch a fireball at them in its rage, but in its pain the shot was wildly off target, sailing through the air past them and crashing into a stone tower several dozen yards behind them. Levin cringed at the close call, too stunned by everything that was happening to even move or dodge, but Harker hardly flinched, keeping his gaze on the Gold Rathian.

He pressed the button again, and lightning crashed down a sixth time. The Rathian howled, wheezing in pain. Its body sparked with lingering electricity, lancing down and jumping across the Meridian stone below it. The creature's eyes were glazed and unfocused now, and though flames still jetted from the wyvern's throat, they come out in bursts synchronized with the Rathian's gasping breaths. The creature staggered, letting out one last, pained wheeze, then toppled to the ground, crashing into the Meridian stone with a shuddering thump. It let out one last, strained death rattle, and died.

There was silence across the tower surface for a long minute, save for the sizzling of the Rathian's flesh. Then Levin turned on Harker, glaring angrily. "I thought you said it _wasn't _a death ray!"

"Well, I never _denied _it, if you'll recall…" Harker replied with a grin. "Besides, it technically wasn't a _ray_, per se…"

"You are _insane_!"

"I've heard that so many times since awakening from the blue crystal, I fear the sentiment has lost its luster…"

"That's not a good thing, Harker."

"Perhaps…" the madman admitted. Then he looked at Levin with a smirk. "But, my friend, surely you must admit the test of my device was rather… cool?"

Levin opened his mouth to argue, but was forced to close it a moment later. "Well… maybe," he conceded. Harker raised an eyebrow expectantly, and a moment later Levin gave in and laughed. "Alright! Alright, I have to admit, that was pretty awesome. Dangerous as all hell, but awesome nonetheless. Can you please just… warn me in advance the next time we do something like this?"

"Ah, yes, of course, my friend. But I have to admit this is quite encouraging!" Harker said excitedly. "I did not expect my test to work so well, at least not on the first try!"

"Wait, this was your first try?" Levin asked worriedly. "Nothing you make _ever _works the first time…"

"Perhaps my luck is changing for the better! Why, just think: if this kind of fortune keeps up, I might be able to finish my testing on the machine in only a few-"

Before Harker could finish, however, he was cut off as a blinding light blazed to life across the top of the Meridian Tower, and a cataclysmic explosion erupted into the sky two hundred yards away from them. Both men were knocked clean off their feet as a shock wave rippled across the tower, smashing into them and throwing them back several feet and onto their backs. Levin winced, holding his hands over his head for several moments as a wave of heat washed over him, and he felt his hair stand on end as the air around him seemed to grow charged and filled with static. Levin and Harker held themselves down for a good minute or so, before the rumbling of the explosion finally began to die away. Levin pushed himself carefully to his feet, hurrying over to help Harker up, before turning to look towards where Harker's machine had been.

A towering cloud of fire and smoke was climbing towards the sky, a thick wall of devastation which had to be a good forty or fifty yards wide. It was tinted slightly bluish-white as bolts of electricity lanced back and forth within the cloud. A few clinks and clanks could be heard here and there around him, as bits and pieces of Harker's machine began to fall from the sky, loose nuts and bolts and shards of metal which hadn't been completely obliterated in the blast. Even the sturdy Meridian stone beneath had suffered damage, several narrow cracks spider-webbing across the white surface. The winds of the mountain were slowly beginning to pick up again, carrying away the tower of smoke little by little.

"I told you!" Levin snapped, pointing a finger at Harker and glaring at the man. "I told you! _Three phials_! Three phials, and you thought you'd be alright testing it standing right next to the damn thing!"

"Ah… well," Harker muttered, watching as the column of smoke rolled into the skies. "Damn it all. I suppose it really _was _a good idea to stand so far away… I must remember to continue that practice in the future."

"They probably heard the blast all the way in Perir… there's no way anyone in Nastre missed it."

"Lady Kerrigan is not going to be pleased with me…"

"Well, at least you're still alive to be lectured by her when you get back. And no wounds, either: she won't have to chastise you in the hospital."

"I suppose those are rather noteworthy boons," Harker admitted, looking up as the rolling smoke pushed into the clouds above them, and crackling electricity jumped between them. "Well, there's nothing left to do now but wait for someone to send one of Silas' airships up to pick us up… No sense sending up a flare now. They know we're done with the experiment, I'm sure."

"A flare would let them know we're alive," Levin reminded him, reaching into his pouch to pull one out. "Though if we didn't, I suppose we could take bets on whether or not they fly caskets up in the airship…"

"How morbid…" Harker muttered sourly. "Though… I've heard tell some of the other researchers in Nastre have actually sized one for me, and they're keeping it ready in case one of my experiments does get the better of me."

"A lovely bunch you've taken leadership of, isn't it?" Levin laughed, aiming the flare skyward and firing, sending a brilliant red light searing into the sky. "But, man, with people like those… hell, with a wife like Kerry, if she's even half as crazy as you are, she might just try and sew you up and bring you back to life. And if you haven't completely disintegrated your notes, you might have given her a lightning machine to do it with."

"That wouldn't-" Harker sputtered out, before pausing mid-sentence and tilting his head in thought.

"Mercy! No, Harker!" Levin gasped, smacking the madman upside the dead. "Bad deranged lunatic! Bad! I was just joking! No thinking about resurrecting the dead! You warp the laws of nature enough with things like your lightning machine! Please, _please _keep your abominations of science to a minimum, or I'm going to be the one dying prematurely! From stress!"

"Fine, fine!" Harker chuckled, rubbing his head. Then he gave Levin a twisted smile. "But then, if you _did _die, I might have incentive to try and attempt resurrecting the dead… I'm kidding! I'm kidding, please don't hit me! I still need my head!"

With a weary sigh, Levin unclenched his fist, before plopping down to the ground to await the arrival of the airship. Harker muttered in disappointment to himself for a few minutes, before dropping to the ground as well, choosing to watch the dark smoke trail twist in the wind up to the rolling clouds above them and scribbling into his notebook. The humming of the airship engines could already be heard to the south, over the whistling of the winds. Tapping a finger against the Meridian stone, Levin turned his gaze to the golden corpse a few dozen yards away from them.

"So… what do we do with the Rathian?"

* * *

**Author's Note: Please Review!**

**Did you think I was actually going to write Levin soloing a Gold Rathian while Harker sat on the sidelines or acted as support? Some of you may have forgotten that I don't make my characters as singularly awesome as other writers do. I did enjoy writing what Harker is really capable of outside of hunting, though.**

**As you can see from this chapter and the last, there will be canon chapters in this story to show a bit of what happens to my characters between the end of TLC and whatever the sequel turns out to be. I'm fairly certain that they won't all be in chronological order, of course. Pretty sure the next chapter I'll release takes place before this one, and another will take place about 7 years after this. I might put a chronological order in the first chapter if I really release a lot of these one-shots. Also, that means a good number of these longer chapters might have several chapters of exposition at the start, like this one. **

**I spent a long time listening to They Might Be Giants when writing this chapter. I feel like it's a band that Harker would have enjoyed, and honestly helps me get into his personality.**

**It's really encouraging to see people fave-ing and reviewing The Lost Civilization, even a few months after the story ended. I guess with each passing day there are more people getting into the MH fandom, and are looking into the fanfics to see what's available. But I just find it odd when people follow TLC. I mean, the story's done and over with, and won't be updating anymore, so why bother? I appreciate the sentiment, but still… **

**Reading: **_**Neko Musume Michikusa Nikki**_** by Ike, **_**Acchi Kocchi**_** by Ishiki  
Playing: Pokemon X  
Listening: They Might Be Giants, Cake, Relient K, Welcome to Night Vale Podcast, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Van Morrison, Mumford and Sons**


	4. Pregnancy

Pregnancy

_Disclaimer: Monster Hunter is copyright Capcom. The characters in this story are mine. _

_ Edited by: Hoenn Master96_

_This one-shot is CANON with The Lost Civilization._

* * *

**Five Years Since the Fall of the Alatreon**

* * *

"Levin… Levin. Levin, wake up!"

Levin groaned wearily, opening his eyes to almost complete darkness. The only light filtering into the small bedroom that he and Ellie shared was a thin line of pale moonlight that pierced the cracks of the window shades above their bed. It couldn't be later than three in the morning…

"Levin, are you awake?"

"I am now," Levin muttered, sitting up groggily and looking at his wife in the dim light. "What's wrong, Ellie?"

"I'm hungry," Ellie replied simply, and Levin groaned inwardly. He'd heard stories about how pregnant women were ravenous for all sorts of strange things, but he'd never thought it would be as bad as this…

"Want me to make you a sandwich or something?" Levin asked hopefully.

"No… I want… I want… you remember that weird foreign food we had while we were in Loc Lac that once? That weird purple-colored plant and the stringy meat? I want some of that."

Levin blinked. "Um, Ellie, Loc Lac is something like two hundred miles away… and I'm not even sure that shop is still standing, either."

"Hmm… well, that's what I want."

Levin sighed. "I don't think that I can get to Loc Lac and back quickly enough to get you some in time."

"Well, can you try and make me something that tastes like it?"

Levin frowned. "Erm… I can try. But it's kind of late, don't you think?"

Suddenly, bright tears began to well up in Ellie's eyes, shimmering in the glow of the moon. "But I… please Levin? I just wanted… I thought you could…"

"Okay! Okay, I'll make what I can," Levin said quickly, hopping out of bed . "I can't promise it'll taste good, though."

"Thank you, Levin," Ellie said, with a wide, appreciative smile.

Levin grinned wearily, but made his way to the small makeshift kitchen they shared, with Ellie tailing close behind. Levin spared a glance back at his wife. She was disheveled from sleep, with small creases under her eyes from more than one sleepless night like tonight. She was just starting to show signs of their first child as well through the loose nightshirt she wore. But honestly, Levin had never thought she looked lovelier. She threw tantrums on a regular basis, and flew from joy to rage at the drop of a hat, but there was still something wonderful about the whole thing. Levin supposed the whole 'maternal glow' idea had some truth to it.

Half an hour later, Ellie was ravenously devouring a small plate of food that Levin had thrown together. Levin wasn't a bad cook, but trying to replicate a meal he'd eaten only once a few years ago was a trick that he wasn't sure he could pull off. Ellie seemed satisfied though, so that was something. At least he had gotten pretty decent control of his dark limbs in the last few years, enough to be a decent cook without dropping things. He'd even managed to start hunting again for a couple months, before Ellie had gotten pregnant.

Pretty soon, the silverware clattered onto the cleaned plate, and Ellie sighed in satisfaction. "That was pretty good, Levin. You're getting better at this."

"I've had some practice this last month." In truth, he'd spent more money on random food and spices since Ellie had gotten pregnant than he'd spent in years…

"Thanks for putting up with me, Levin," Ellie said with a smile. Her hand went to her belly, and she lightly touched the bump with a peaceful look on her face. "All this work and running around at the beck and call of a person that isn't the size of an apple yet. Ravenous little thing too… This little girl is causing us both some trouble, isn't she?"

"Girl?" Levin asked curiously. "How do you know…?"

"Woman's intuition," Ellie replied simply. "She'll be quite the rabble-rouser, I think. Like her father."

"I don't know: sounds a lot like you, if you ask me, Miss Ellie."

"Whatever you say, Mister Levin. Though I should probably remind you that it's _Missus _Ellie now, remember?" Ellie laughed, holding up her hand to show the small, simple ring wrapping around her finger. Then she shivered a little, and a glazed expression crossed her face.

"Looks like you could use some more sleep, _Missus _Ellie," Levin said, walking over to her side. "Orson said he'd be arriving in the morning, so it'd probably be best if we-"

Ellie's arm suddenly snapped out, grabbing hold of Levin's sleeve, before flipping him down onto the table. Levin grunted from the impact as Ellie nimbly hopped up to straddle him, a positively predatory expression on her face. Levin chuckled nervously.

"Uh, Ellie? Shouldn't we… go to bed?"

Ellie cocked her head a little, an accusing look crossing her face. "You know something Levin? You haven't touched me since I got pregnant. Why is that?"

"Ah! Well…" Levin flushed slightly, and Ellie giggled in amusement. "I just… with you pregnant, it just didn't feel like I should…"

"Even pregnant women like to receive some affection, Levin," Ellie purred, pulling her face closer to his. "It's making me rather frustrated, you know? It's not wise to irritate a woman when she's with child, Levin. So… what are you going to do about it?"

Levin sputtered for a moment, before grinning awkwardly. "I suppose… whatever you want me to."

Ellie smirked wickedly. "Wise boy. Best get started, Levin. Wouldn't want to miss our doctor's appointment, would we?"

* * *

**Author's Note: Please Review! Almost forgot to post this one...**

**Haha… that was risqué. I hope I write domestic fluff decently. **

**Well, that was abrupt, wasn't it? Truth be told, this was a writing prompt I found on Tumblr a while ago, which read: **_**Imagine Person A is pregnant and has the pregnant symptoms of mood swings, odd cravings, and an extra dose of hornyness. How does Person B keep up with A's changes and keep them satisfied?**_

**I can't remember exactly when it was written… sometime summer 2013, I think? But I saw the prompt and instantly thought of Levin and Ellie, so I wrote it. In about… an hour and a half, maybe. Not my finest work, but I rather liked it for its shortness and simplicity. Make no mistake, this is the most risqué my writing will ever be.**

**Playing: MH3U  
Listening: Blind Guardian**


	5. G-Rank

G-Rank

_Disclaimer: Monster Hunter is copyright Capcom. Most of the characters in this story are mine. Noxramus belongs to Noxramus the Almighty_

_Edited by: Hoenn Master96_

_This one-shot is CANON with The Lost Civilization_

* * *

**Eleven Years Since the Fall of the Alatreon**

* * *

"Hey! Hey, big brother! Hey Crezzy!" Crezant sighed wearily at the prodding voice and the nickname, looking up from his paperwork to see two pairs of big eyes staring at him intently over the edge of the desk, belonging to two rambunctious girls.

The girl on the left, hovering a couple of heads taller than the other, was none other than his younger sister, Sami. She had shining blue eyes, and bright blonde hair covered her head, trailing down to the middle of her back, though it was tousled by her constant playing and running around. She was twelve years old now; Crezant found it hard to believe it had already been well over a decade since the girl had been born. Her face was split in a wide, devious grin as she stared at her brother, and Crezant frowned; he knew that look, and it rarely meant things were going to made easier for him in the near future.

The other girl was Sonia, half Sami's age at six, a small girl even for her age. She was less accustomed to the cold as Sami, and was wearing a thick Popo fur coat and mittens. Her vibrant green eyes and fluffy tuft of short brown hair seemed to match her boundless energy and enthusiasm, however. She had made fast friends with Sami in the last week since they'd met, despite the age difference, though it could be because she seemed to be one of the few girls could manage to keep up with his sister. The two had certainly done their level best to be constantly running around the family business complex, playing their games as they darted around in search of other things to keep them amused.

But that begged the question as to why the pair of them were here. In his office. Far from anything remotely resembling their definition of fun.

"What do you want, Sami?" he asked wearily.

"Can we play in your study?" Sami replied quickly, grinning vibrantly and glancing towards a side room connected to the Crezant's office.

Crezant sighed at the question. "Why would you want to play in there? I thought you and Sonia were playing in the empty warehouse."

"That nasty old coot Brooks kicked us out," Sami huffed, puffing her cheeks and crossing her arms. Crezant hummed at the words; Brooks was one of the oldest employees of the company, and was not nearly so accepting of Sami darting around the complex as the others working for him were. "He said we'd break something, but there's nothing in there to break!"

"Were you playing 'Hunters'?" Crezant asked, though he knew the answer. The two girls were trying their best to keep a couple toy swords behind their backs, but weren't keeping them hidden very well. "You have a reputation of roughhousing while you're playing, Sami," Crezant chided. "You could have broken a window, or damaged the building itself."

"Nuh-uh!" Sami retorted. "We were just playing! We wouldn't have broken anything! It's not like we could break a whole warehouse, Crezzy!"

"Oh, really?" Crezant replied, the ghost of a smile flickering at the edge of his mouth. "As I recall, you said something similar a few months ago, and the next thing we knew, one of the exterior sheds had collapsed in on itself. I'd like to avoid that happening to any of our warehouses, even if they are empty."

Now Sami was fidgeting where she stood, an embarrassed and slightly guilty look on her face. Sonia was looking at her in questioning wonder. "It was a really old shed…" Crezant leaned back it his chair, tapping his fingers together and hiding his amusement. The shed really _had _been old, erected even before Crezant had been born as far as he knew. But it was still a mystery how Sami had managed to so spectacularly destroy the structure, considering her age. It was little wonder Brooks made an effort to keep her away from the complex whenever he could.

But Sami snapped back quickly. "So can we play in your study? If we can't play in the rest of the warehouses, can we play here? Otherwise we'll have to leave the complex, and Sonia wants to wait here."

"I'm very busy, Sami…" Crezant began, but his sister cut him off.

"We'll be quiet! Promise! You, uh, you have some monster books from the Guild, right? I can read them to Sonia. She likes those kinds of things, right Sonia?" The younger girl next to her nodded fervently.

Crezant sighed, glaring irately at the two girls, only to be met by two sets of puppy-dog eyes, pleading for permission. Such things didn't work on Crezant… usually. But with Brooks on their case right now, Sami was right in assuming they wouldn't be able to keep playing in the warehouses and yards as they had been…

"Fine," Crezant muttered sourly, and the two girls giggled happily. But he pointed a finger at them stern. "Keep quiet though. I have work to do, and the last thing I need is to be distracted by you two. Understand?"

"Perfectly!" Sami said excitedly, grabbing hold of Sonia's hand and darting towards the side room. Already, the toy swords they had were out, clearly showing what they planned to do once they were out of sight of Crezant. Crezant sighed as the noise of play began to echo back into his office. They were being quieter than he'd suspected they'd be… he supposed that was better than nothing. He supposed this was just a part of what he could expect from his sister, considering the far more lax upbringing she'd received, courtesy of Crezant's father, Noi.

His father had said once, right after Sami had been born, he would one day return to his former self: the harsh, coldly-calculating businessman he had been during Crezant's own childhood, the man who had taught him everything he knew of business. However, it seemed the man he had once been had failed to reappear, and the Noi of old seemed gone from the world forever. Sami's presence in the house seemed to have produced a perpetual calming effect on the old businessman, and now few in Hearth were as kind and jovial as he.

There had been worry in Hearth over the condition of the family company, Rimestone, for a couple years after Sami's birth, but his father's business was going just as strong as it had been before Sami was born, and actually seemed to have been expanding a little in the last few years… though Crezant was almost certain it had nothing to do with the change in his father's attitude. After all, it was only a couple years after Sami had been born that Noi had retired from running the company, leaving it in Crezant's capable hands, to spend time with his wife, Mu, and his daughter, Sami. He had maintained an advisory role, of course, but for the most part left everything to Crezant. Crezant had taken it all in stride; he was competent in running Rimestone, and had kept everything moving along swimmingly since he'd taken over.

It had even improved further with the influx of Lost Hearth had taken in during the last decade. Those who came usually had one or two good ideas which could be used to improve the work of the company, and were welcome. And in the last couple years, Crezant had been spreading feelers into some of the Lost towns and cities in the south, in hopes of picking up more information. There had even been talk of signing a contract with the airship company which had sprouted up in Nastre, called Rising Dawn, in hopes of getting better transport for Hearth's goods than the Popo-drawn wagons they used now.

So, needless to say, even without Noi at the helm, and despite the old man's change in attitude, Rimestone was doing just fine.

Crezant wasn't sure how to personally feel about his father's change, however. Honestly, part of him was angry at the old man for changing so much, and part of him was pleased. On the one hand, Noi had been just as described, cold and calculating, when he was a child. It had made for a very… _challenging _childhood, being raised under such a man, who had judged his actions with harsh scrutiny. And now he was so kind and doting, just because Sami had been born, just like that? He knew it was childish of him, but it seemed so unfair!

But on the other hand, Crezant found his life had gotten far simpler, and far… happier since Sami had been born. The girl was loud and exuberant, and seemed to act almost entirely on simple emotions rather than any sort of reason or calculation; a near-perfect opposite of Crezant himself. The girl's attitude seemed to have rubbed off on Noi, and the old man had become far kinder towards Crezant ever since, and was far more apt to telling them how proud he was of Crezant's work. It was something Crezant just wasn't used to, and even after twelve years, it felt so strange to him.

And as for Sami herself, despite the clear difference in their personalities, the girl didn't seem to hesitate at all when showing her own affection for him. Crezant had to admit he was baffled; he knew he was an austere, sharp-tongued man, and yet the girl seemed drawn to him somehow, looking up to him as a brother despite his demeanor. Despite outward appearances and the stern hand he had when dealing with her, somehow or another, the two of them had ended up having quite the affectionate relationship. He did love her, and did his best to take care of her when she was under his charge, though he had to admit the work in raising her was exasperating.

His father and mother trusted him enough to take care of Sami, despite his work, so much so that they'd decided to take a short vacation with each other, to see how the world had changed since they were young. A 'second honeymoon' they'd called it, some Lost term Crezant didn't know the meaning of. And honestly, with the way his mother and father had been going on with each other the last few years, Crezant half-expected them to return with the news that he and Sami should be expecting _another _sibling…

A light rapping sounded at his office door, just barely audible over the shouts and scampering of the two girls in the next room. "Enter," he said simply, and the door opened, revealing one of his company's many employees.

"Apologies for the… interruption, sir," the woman said, her gaze glancing over towards the entry into the next room, where Sami and Sonia's playing could still be heard. "But we've received word from the town guard: it would seem the hunters have recently returned from their hunt, victorious. They should be arriving back at the complex in a few minutes."

A yelp and a clattering could be heard from the next room, and a moment later, Sonia appeared in the doorway, her eyes wide and excited. "Mommy and daddy are back?"

"So it would seem," Crezant replied, pushing himself to his feet. "Has the Guild been informed?"

"They have," the woman replied. "They're gathering up carts to go and collect the remains of the monsters now."

"Excellent," Crezant said with a nod. He looked over at Sonia as Sami appeared behind the younger girl. "Shall we go and greet them?" The vibrant smiles from both the little girls were answer enough.

The Rimestone compound had grown since Crezant had taken over, so it was a good five minutes or so of weaving through halls and across snow-covered paths before Crezant and the two girls reached the front entrance. But, soon enough, the three of them reached the entry hall. It was a broad, well-lit, and well-heated building which stood at the front of the complex. It also served as the family home, of course, so effort had been taken to make it feel comfortable and welcoming. But now it would serve as a waiting room, as Crezant and the two girls waited for the arrival of the hunters.

They weren't long waiting, and the sound of shouting coming from passerby could be heard coming from outside. It was a familiar noise to Crezant, usual for the people of Hearth to welcome back returning hunters. But there was an odd tone to it, one he was having trouble placing, despite his many years working with hunters… But the muffled sound of armored boots striding through the snow was getting closer to the entrance, and Sonia and Sami were growing more and more excited in their expectation. A blast of cold air seeped in from outside as the wide front doors of the building slid open, and the glaring light of the sun reflecting off the snow blinded Crezant for a moment. But not enough to see the two hunters he'd sent out to step into the building, sliding the door shut behind them. Crezant's eyes were forced to readjust to the interior lighting, but even so he was able to make out the shine of the two hunters' armors, one wearing bright Silver Rathalos armor, while the other wore brilliant Gold Rathian armor. Sonia yelped excitedly, darting towards her parents, Levin and Eleanor.

But before the girl could get to the pair, Crezant finally realized what was off about the whole situation. As his eyes readjusted to the dimmer light of the building, he realized the hunters' armor, while still impressive, was beaten and battered. Dents coated the silver and gold plating, and countless scrapes and scratches lined the scales along the hunters' arms and legs. And the hunters themselves looked just as worn; their faces showed clearly their fatigue and aching, and a large bandage was patched to Eleanor's left cheek. Sonia was still rushing towards them excitedly, and the gold-armored hunter stepped forward to greet her.

However, before Sonia could reach him, Levin's legs suddenly buckled under him. The hunter toppled to the ground with a loud crash, his armor clanging loudly against the wooden floor. His helmet came loose as well, the golden-scale armor falling from his head and clattering across the floor and ricocheting off one of the nearby chairs. Levin gasped in pain, coughing a couple times, but didn't try to push himself back to his feet.

Sonia yelped in horror, rushing to Levin's side and looking down at him despairingly. She nervously prodded at her father's cheek with her toy sword, before looking up fearfully at her mother. "Is daddy dead?" she asked, and Ellie chuckled slightly.

"I'm fine, I'm fine…" Levin groaned from the floor. "I'm not dead, sweetheart, just… tired. Let me lie down here for a little while."

Sonia cocked her head curiously at her father, before turning and skittering off down the hall. A few moments later, she reappeared from one of the side rooms, dragging a few large pillows under her arms. She knelt to next to Levin, poking at the gold-armored hunter's head. "I got you pillows, daddy."

Levin grunted painfully, pulling his head up, and Sonia shoved a couple of the soft Peco-down pillows under his head. "Thanks, sweetheart," he sighed wearily, earning a bright smile from his daughter. Ellie smiled at the pair gently, but only walked a few steps more before slumping down into a chair and releasing an immensely weary sigh.

"Tough battle?" Crezant asked, looking down at the hunters curiously. Ellie turned, giving Crezant a withering glare, and pointed a gauntleted finger at him.

"_Never. Again_. You understand? Hire someone else next time."

Crezant shook his head in confusion. "I'm afraid I don't understand what trouble you could have had. They were only a pair of Great Baggis… weren't they? Noxramus used to kill them for fun, not challenge. The Guild may have classified them for only six star or higher hunters to hunt, that new G-Rank classification, but I didn't think they would prove to be much of a challenge."

"They were Great Baggis, I'll grant you that much," Ellie sighed. "They hit hard too, about as much as I thought they would. But… sweet mercy, it was like they'd been doped up on speed or cocaine or something!"

"Speed? Cocaine? What are-"

"Never mind," Ellie replied quickly, waving her hand. "They just… moved so _fast_! They could've outrun Barioths at those speeds! Even when they were limping - _limping!_ - they were still running at least three times faster than either of us could at a dead sprint! Mercy, I thought it would be good practice to bring my sword and shield instead of my bowgun, but if I hadn't, the damn things would be too fast for me to even shoot! I mean, I guess could have used Pellet rounds…"

"_No_," Levin grumbled emphatically from his place on the floor. Sonia was still next to him, struggling to help him pull off his armor. She'd managed to unfasten his gauntlets, as well as the greave and poleyn of his left leg. "No more Pellet shots. The last time you used those in a fight, you hit me as often as you hit the Rathian we were hunting… My armor deflected _most _of the buckshot, but I had to get stitches in by _backside _thanks to-"

"Levin!" Ellie snapped as Sonia and Sami giggled.

"I'm just saying! There are some wounds a hunter can get, where there is no way to weave it into a decent story. And there's no Hippocratic Oath in this world, so mercy knows the doctors and nurses have no reason to keep my less _glamorous _injuries a secret. Not every hunt ends with a flattering story to tell… Like the time we were going after that… what was it called, Great Wroggi? And you ended up falling face-first into that big pile of-"

"Shut up!" Ellie yelped quickly, her face blooming a vibrant red. Sonia giggled even more, as Crezant and Sami glanced at each other, both confused. "We don't need to tell that story any more than it already has been!"

"But it's such a great story! Always good for a laugh or two!"

"So are most of the ones you have involving Harker," Ellie replied, "but you don't tell those very often, now do you?"

"To be fair, that's because I'm legally bound to silence by the Guild," Levin muttered. "Well… for most of them, at least."

"Not for the _fun _stories."

"Yeah… but for the fun stories, I usually can't remember all the details… and that's not even an excuse! My memory gets kind of foggy when I try to remember what happened in some of them… One too many concussions, I think…"

Ellie smiled when Levin grunted in pain, as Sonia and Sami managed to unlatch the armor for the hunter's other arm. Both girls tumbled backwards as the golden armor pulled loose, clattering across the ground, and Sonia darted off after it. The girl tumbled a bit though, the thick Popo coat and pants throwing her off and tripping her to the ground, but she was back up in a flash, collecting the golden armor with a wide smile on her face.

"I don't think we can afford to do any more of these G-Rank hunts," Ellie muttered quietly to Crezant.

"What do you mean?" Crezant asked. "You're more prepared for such hunts than most other hunters. Few hunters can say they've taken part in an elder dragon hunt, much less managed to kill one. And your armor and weapons have been classified as G-Rank classification as well. Silver Rathalos and Gold Rathian armor… it is hard to find more sturdy armor in this country. And your weapons…"

Ellie nodded sullenly, reaching down and patting the hilt of her short sword. It was an ancient, refurbished blade, made of dark, blackish-green metal. The blade was a crooked sort of design, splitting into two separate edges which curved around a glowing orange gemstone, embedded right into the metal just above the pommel. The shield was made of similar materials, but the center had a wide, pale green stone of some kind, which glimmered and glowed softly with an eerie light. A gift from a friend, she'd said it was, a recovered and restored weapon from some ancient tower in the south. It made for a fierce-looking weapon, and between it and Levin's Deviljho switch axe, the pair of hunters had quite an imposing air about them.

And yet they'd both come back with wounds and damage. From Great Baggis, nonetheless… Perhaps this G-Rank the Guild had created had more danger behind it than Crezant had initially believed.

"Either way," Ellie said, shaking her head, "I don't think Levin and I will be doing any more of these G-Rank quests for you. I mean, if it's an emergency, maybe, or if it's helping out Kerry and Harker with their research, but…"

The huntress gave a poignant look in Levin's direction. Both Sonia and Sami were struggling to help Levin back to his feet, pulling on his arms while the hunter intentionally acted as dead weight, making them work for it and laughing at the girls' protests. Sonia skittered around behind her father and began shoving forcefully against his back, though it seemed to be doing little to help, and her feet slid wildly on the wood flooring. Though their daughter had managed to remove the armor covering Levin's legs and arms, his chest plates and faulds were still attached, and were weighing the switch axe user down almost as much as his own weight did.

"Sonia's only six years old…" Ellie said quietly, and Crezant began to catch the meaning behind her words. "A part of me would revel in the challenge of hunting down these G-Rank monsters, and savor the knowledge I'd managed to hunt and kill something few hunters even have the qualifications to _attempt _to go after. I guess that's the part of me which had me becoming a hunter in the first place. But Sonia's still so young, and Levin and I are both hunters. I've seen what happens when children with hunters for parents are orphaned at a young age. It happens too often… almost a cliché, to be honest. I couldn't do that to her, Crezant."

Crezant nodded solemnly at the words. Hearth had its fair share of children missing a parent or two thanks to the dangers of hunting. Of course, the townsfolk made sure they were seen to and taken care of… but the loss always left behind scars, mentally if not physically.

"Very well," Crezant said. "If that is your decision, I will abide by it. Your names will be taken off the roster of hunters for hire, at least for the most difficult hunts. There are other hunters who would come at our call. Hopefully we'll be able to find one or two we can rely on as we have with you two the last few years."

"Thank you," Ellie said with a grateful sigh. Her attention turned away from Levin and the girls, before looking down at her armor with a resigned, exasperated look. "I guess Levin and I are going to have to hunt down Shinra again… Damn it, this armor's such a pain in the butt to get repaired. The old bastard's work is great, but we have to go find him every time it gets too dinged up."

"We could have a smith here in Hearth take a look," Crezant offered, but Ellie shook her head.

"Don't bother. Shinra's work is too precise. I've asked a lot of really good smiths, and they all tell me they'd be more likely to ruin the armor than repair it if they tried. The old Wyvernian is the best at what he does, I'll admit that, but that means he's probably the only one out there who can repair his own work… Never thought a couple Great Baggis would be the reason I have to get it repaired, though."

"Well, you're perfectly welcome to stay and rest for a couple days before setting off," Crezant told her, and Ellie smiled thankfully. He glanced in Levin's direction, where the two girls had managed to get the hunter to his feet, and were darting around gathering up all the gold-plated armor pieces Sonia had managed to scatter about the room. "I suppose Sami would enjoy the company, and you did mention some… proposition of a kind. Something about a trade agreement with your sundries shop down in Perir Town."

"Ah, yes," Ellie replied, her eyes lighting up a little at the words. Crezant frowned concernedly at her tone; he'd heard its like in the voices of other businessmen and competitors with Rimestone. He'd heard Geisel Sundries had been growing well over the years in the south, apparently quite popular with hunters. Despite her occupation as a hunter, it seemed Ellie had become quite an apt businesswoman in her own right. Crezant would need to show caution when dealing with her.

"But that can wait for now," Ellie quickly said, her expression sagging as she groaned and flopped back into the chair. "I'm tired and sore… and hungry too."

"Food!" Sonia suddenly called, perking up and darting over to her mother, leaping into Ellie's lap and crawling up until she was eye level with the huntress. "Can we have Bullfango meat, mommy? Please?"

"Blech. How do you like that stuff, Sonia?" Ellie asked, her expression souring. "It so tough and chewy…"

"I like it! It's yummy!" the girl replied adamantly. "With garlic and honey!"

"Mercy, but you take after your father… at least in terms of taste," Ellie sighed, glancing over at Levin, who merely smirked. "Well… if Crezant will provide us…"

"Of course," the businessman replied quickly. "I'll tell the cooks to do what they can."

"Thank you. Now come on, Sonia. Let's go back to the room and you can help mommy get her armor off and packed up. And daddy's too, though it looks like you're already halfway done with that. And be sure to thank Mr. Crezant for taking care of you while we were off on our hunt, sweetheart."

"It's the least we could for coming so far to rid Hearth of such dangerous creatures. Though, I suppose I will need to be more cautious in my selection of hunters for future endeavors into G-Rank hunting. We cannot risk deaths against such dangerous creatures."

"Oh, definitely, especially if today's hunt was any indication," Ellie agreed. "Things will only get more difficult, I'm sure. I mean, it's not as though _Great Baggis _could be the nastiest monster this G-Rank could throw at us. Right?"

* * *

**Author's Note: Please Review!**

**What has two thumbs and doesn't like G-Ranks Great Baggis? This guy. I'd almost rather fight the event Brachy or the event Ivory Lagi than these annoying bastards. Though, I can't be the only one that shares that sentiment. **

**Also, WOO, bought the MH Illustrations books! They're amazing!**

**Reading: Monster Hunter Illustrations 1 and 2  
Playing: Animal Crossing: New Leaf, MH3U  
Listening: Mika, Mudvayne, Jimmy Buffett, The Album Leaf, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Uncle Kracker  
Watching: The Avengers**


	6. Underground - Part 1

Underground – Part 1

_Disclaimer: Monster Hunter is copyright Capcom. All the characters in this chapter are mine. _

_Edited by: Hoenn Master96 and Thomas A. Hawk_

_This one-shot is CANON with The Lost Civilization_

_Inspired by __A Journey to the Center of the Earth__ by Jules Verne_

* * *

**Five Years Since the Fall of the Alatreon**

* * *

"We've found another brazier, sir!"

"Wonderful! Is it fueled?"

"Hold on… yeah, it is! Wood and that weird grey coal, just like the others."

"Excellent! Ignite it!"

A torch was lowered into the ornate brass bowl, and Heine blinked as the kindling inside blazed to life, illuminating a stretch of the dark pathway before him. The strange grey coals flared brightly inside their containers, flickering with flames producing a minute bluish tint, and a small cone of fire stretched up into the darkness. There was a bustling of motion as people around him began to spread out, investigating the immediate area surrounding the newly-illuminated brazier. But Heine watched idly as the cinders spiraled upwards, twirling through the stale air and standing out against the darkness like stars. No real stars could be found above him, however, not in the calmest, clear-skied night; not here at least.

Not in the darkest depths of the Meridian Tower.

Heine Blackwater wasn't sure how he'd been roped into this whole business… He was just a courier! Compared to work like this, all he did was accompany the trade caravans for Geisel Sundries, helping to off load and reload goods into the wagons. How did he get suckered into some big exploration of the inner depths of the Meridian Tower north of Nastre? It probably hadn't helped that Rena had been excited about the whole prospect… likely she'd 'volunteered' his services without his consent, getting him pulled into the whole mess, and his boss, Eleanor Geisel, wasn't averse to letting her friend Harker 'borrow' some of her employees for work like this.

The discovery of the Meridian Tower was nothing new. Its existence had been revealed around six or seven years ago, when a Silver Rathalos that had appeared and started raiding Nastre's supply of Aptonoth was slain. But the whole structure was sealed up, top to bottom, with no discernable way in, no matter how many exploration parties went looking for one. Since the death of the Alatreon, Harker Renfield, a renowned former hunter who had helped slay the elder dragon, discovered the Tower, and coined the term 'Meridian' among archaeologists and researchers, had been trying to find a way inside to learn the secrets of those who built it. In the meantime, he'd busied himself on his experiments with his wife and his… what, five children or something, in some fortified bunker of a house a few hundred yards outside the walls of Nastre.

But apparently, just a couple months ago, he'd finally found a way inside the Tower. Or rather, blasted his way in, if the stories were true. Some experiment of his had inadvertently 'opened' the well-hidden doors at the top of the Tower, right off their hinges. Ever since, there had been a flurry of enthusiasm amongst the researchers and engineers in Nastre in preparation for the journey within. The excitement had spread all the way to Perir, where Heine had somehow gotten roped into the adventure.

Looking up, he could see the spiraling trail of lit braziers twirling up to the top of the Tower. The interior was rather simple in its design, if massive in scale. Within the pale, near-indestructible white stone walls, right at the center of the tower, was a vast, circular hole which dropped straight down into the earth. Two wide ramps, almost two dozen yards wide, formed a double helix along the walls, sloping deep into the earth. Dozens of bridges cut across the center of the tower as well, spanning the expanse and allowing quick access to the opposing side.

The company of researchers, hunters, and adventurers, nearly a hundred strong, had been proceeding down the ramps slowly, taking their time in their slow exploration of the structure. The Tower simply seemed endless… They'd been lighting the braziers they'd found, somehow still filled with fuel to burn, before scouring the nearby rooms for information on the Meridians, and whatever they created within these pale walls. Here and there, a hallway or door branched away from the central ramp, leading into chambers and barracks which had laid dead and silent for who knows how many years. All the eggheads and archeologists, and whoever else had come along to explore, seemed to be fascinated with the strange objects and machines they were finding, and every room seemed to offer them even more.

The walkways were spacious enough that the research crew had even brought a few Popo-drawn wagons inside with them, carrying a majority of the supplies they needed. The expedition had needed to fly everything in via airship, thanks to the Tower sprouting from the earth near the mountain peak. Since Aptonoth were so heavy, they had also needed to rely on Popo steeds for transport, but the furry creatures seemed perfectly content with their work in the darkness, even if they seemed to get skittish the further down they went.

They'd been traveling for a long time now, coming close to a mile deep, judging by how far the furthest burning braziers above them were. It had to have been almost two days now they'd been inside the Tower; way at the top of the spire, Heine had seen the sunlight, filtering in through the single entry, fade to night and back to day again since they'd continued their trek downwards. Small groups had even been left behind to man base camps in the larger rooms they'd discovered, but still the main expedition was still descending, heading into the darkness below. The researchers didn't seem to mind, but the hunters and guards who had been hired to accompany them were getting a little fidgety. Heine didn't blame them; the Tower seemed empty so far, but if something was alive and dangerous down here, it was a long way to the exit…

He sighed wearily as shouts of excitement came from one of the nearby rooms, where Harker or one of the other researchers was likely discovering some new amazing find for the hundredth time today. Heine wasn't made for this type of work. He had neither the build of a hunter, who were needed to provide defense in case they came across something nasty, nor the enthusiasm of the researchers who were here to study whatever it was they were hoping to find.

Heine was one of the Lost, and a shorter man, the shortest in this adventuring party. He looked rather lanky as well, though he wasn't as weak as his appearance suggested, thankfully; he'd been building some muscle since beginning work as a courier, hauling boxes back and forth from wagons and keeping watch over them during long caravan journeys. But it didn't really make him appear much sturdier than he had been when he'd first 'awoken' in this world. His face didn't help, being rather thin and pointed, and he completely lacked the ability to grow more than a few hairs on his face. He had thought growing his black hair long, and tying it back, would help, but it apparently only seemed to make him appear more frail than before. At least his vision was good enough that he didn't need glasses (and wouldn't _that_ have been the perfect capper on his appearance, he wondered wryly). Actually, that seemed to be his only redeeming quality: his dark green eyes were sharp, probably the best out of anyone here, hunter and researcher alike.

He hadn't known what to wear when he'd gotten drafted into this work, so he just wore what he always did during his work in the caravans: leather pants, made from dull gray Aptonoth hide, old work boots he'd had since before getting swept up in the Lost crystal and managed to keep intact, and a comfortable cotton shirt that was nice and loose, disguising his thin frame. He was thankful that he'd been able to find someone willing to make cotton clothing; it seemed like monster hide was the fashion of the day in this hunter's world, with everyone and their mother wearing skin-tight leather clothing unless they lived far enough north to warrant fur coats. At least Perir was further inland than the coastal cities, since it seemed like everyone in the fishing villages prefered to wear speedos day in and day out… or at least the men all did…

"Hey, Heine! Whatcha doing just standing around for, you bum?"

Heine grinned wryly at the friendly voice, and turned as a huntress approached. She was tall, almost a foot and a half taller than he was, with rich dark skin and a powerful, sturdy body. She was exceptionally strong; you could tell with just a glance, even at a distance. It certainly made it easier to figure as much, considering the massive, double-edged slab of metal she had slung across her back: her personal great sword, a broad blade so large its tip nearly scraped the ground behind her while its hilt simultaneously stretched a few good inches over her head. She had all that weight carried in a single weapon, and still had the strength and endurance to carry a wide barrel under one arm and an armored Felyne sitting comfortably on her shoulder.

Heine's gaze dipped towards her body; it was a challenge not to do so, considering the glaringly vibrant hues of her armor set. Brilliant, blinding reds and blues flared brightly across her chest, arms and legs, shifting and fluttering with every step the huntress took. It was one of the new armor sets developed in recent years, made from the materials carved from some new creature. Or rather, a subspecies, they'd been called. It was made from a creature called the Crimson Qurupeco, a previously unknown, lightning-slinging variant of a normal Qurupeco, which managed to have an even more vibrant palette than its green-feathered brethren. The armor had been designed with little to no effort taken to dull the blinding hues.

There were other issues with the armor, too, ones Heine knew he should have problems with, but his brain seemed to refuse to allow him to figure why said problems were really so bad. The armor (a Lost design, he'd been told), seemed to have ignored any attempts to cover the abdomen, and did about as much to protect the upper legs. Both were clearly uncovered, and Heine found his eyes lingering intently on the huntress' toned abs and thighs, glowing in the dim light of the torches. Several old scars lined her flesh, lingering proof of her profession, but they certainly didn't lessen the huntress' attraction… not in Heine's eyes, at least.

A wicked giggle snapped him out of it, and his eyes darted to the huntress' face as she swept towards him with an amused grin.

Her face was just as vibrant as her clothing, with an amused, cat-like smile on a round face as she looked down at him. A couple scars lined her face as well, including a rather notable one over her left eyebrow. Her short brown hair was held back by a headdress of sorts, made from the same colorful materials as the rest of her armor, and her bright grey eyes were alight with humor while she smirked at him. As she neared, the Felyne on her shoulder leapt off, dropping to the ground and adjusting its armor. "Enjoying the view, Heine?" the huntress purred in amusement.

"I wasn't- Erm, well, I won't say _no_…"

"Aha! He's getting bolder! Go ahead and look!" the huntress said proudly, puffing out her impressive chest. "I've spent years training to be a hunter, and I want people to know my work has paid off! I'm proud of my body, and I don't mind showing it off a little."

"I think you're showing off more than just a _little_, Rena," Heine noted pointedly.

"Such a prude," Rena giggled. She swung an arm around Heine's shoulders, pulling him close; not exactly a difficult task, considering she was taller and much, much stronger than him. "You know, ever since those Nargacuga have been migrating up from the south, I've been meaning to get a set of armor made from their materials. I'm sure you've seen displays for their design in Perir."

"I've seen how they barely seem to qualify as armor at all, save for the arms and legs…" Heine muttered quietly, and Rena laughed at the words.

"You'd be surprised! That mesh which wraps around the body certainly leaves little to the imagination, but it's actually fibers made from tightly-bound Narga fur and medullas. Much tougher than they appear, I'm sure. I wonder how I'd look, wearing something like that…"

Heine had certainly wondered as well, many times since he'd first seen the ridiculously shameless armor design on display in armor shops. The thought of Rena is such an outfit had appeared numerous times in his mind… and occasionally in some very vivid dreams. Not that he'd ever admit it, of course. Considering Rena's… _playful_ nature, he'd gotten quite good at keeping his pokerface during the course of their friendship.

He demonstrated such by giving Rena a flat look. "You should try to be more pragmatic," he told her. "Even if that armor can take a few hits, can it take fire, or lightning? What about claws or fangs? They'd just go through the holes in the mesh."

Rena never made it any easier for him, though; his improving skill at keeping a stern face only seemed to encourage the huntress to try harder. Considering his admittedly subdued, sober personality, she seemed to enjoy the challenge of flustering him. She smirked at him wickedly. "You know what? You're right."

Wait, what? He was? He hadn't expected that.

"Such a flaw in the armor is completely unforgivable," the huntress continued, creating a falsely concerned expression. "Why, it's as though the smiths and armorers don't even realize they're putting such glaring vulnerabilities in the armors they make! Something must be done!"

"…Like what?" Heine asked cautiously.

Rena cocked her head thoughtfully, and a devilish grin crawled across her face. She leaned in close, and lowered her voice to a husky growl. "Perhaps… Why don't I get myself a set of the armor, and I'll wear it for you. Then you can look me over, and help me find all those troublesome gaps in the armor so we can… make note of them. Every. Last. One. No matter where they are."

With that, Heine's attempt at keeping his expression impassive failed, and he felt his face flare as a _profound_ mental image of Rena burst to life in his head. He turned his head to face away from her, but it was too late. The damage was done, and Rena laughed at the sight of him sputtering in embarrassment.

"You're making this harder for me, Heine! We've only known each other half a year, and I have to try this much to get a reaction out of you! Just imagine what kinds of things I'll have to do to get you embarrassed in a year or so!"

"I'd rather not…" Heine muttered. If Rena's teasing kept going like it was, he was going to have an aneurysm before winter. He looked up as a trail of torches began to branch out, scouring their way into unexplored rooms and passages. "Shouldn't you be out at the head of the group, acting as a guard or something?"

"Trying to get rid of me so soon?" Rena chuckled. "Don't you worry, Heine. A bunch of higher-ranked hunters than me are at the head right now, so we don't need to worry about that. Besides, they sent me back to collect some Anti-Dragon bombs from the wagons, in case we need to clear a collapse again."

"They trusted _you_ with heavy explosives?" Heine asked fearfully, and Rena snickered.

"They haven't known me as long as you have. Besides, have you _met_ our employer? I'm surprised the Guild let Harker use these in the first place. It's not like I have the igniter fuses, anyway; I just carry the barrels. Besides, someone has to come back and watch the rear. Though I know we'll be safe, as long as Mr. Deadeye here is around to watch our backs."

Heine sighed at the words, shrugging to adjust the straps over his shoulder. Slung to his back was an old, worn rifle, with a marksman's scope affixed to the top, a gift from his father when he'd been younger. He had been at a shooting range when he'd been wrapped up in the blue light which had carried the Lost to this time, and had somehow managed to keep his weapon with him through the years, as well as a fair number of bullets. He'd done his best to keep it clean and in good condition since arriving in this 'hunter's world,' if for no other reason than in memory of his father, but it had gotten quite battered now that he'd used up his maintenance materials; the barrel was clean for now, but the stock had gotten a bit rough for the wear. After centuries, maybe even millennia spent sleeping in those blue crystals, the weapon was technically thousands of years old, and one of the few working Lost weapons which existed in the world. And it did work, Heine had proven that…

But he was just an average shot, not like Rena claimed. "I'm no deadeye," he muttered, though the huntress laughed at the words.

"That's not what I remember!" she claimed, grinning at him. Heine groaned; he knew that tone. Rena was getting into her storytelling voice, something hunters seemed far too eager to use on a regular basis. It was a common enough trait that those around the pair began to look on eagerly, grinning in anticipation of a story, and Rena was more than willing to provide.

"It was just outside of Perir Town," the huntress began, raising her voice for the people around her. "I had taken a job protecting a caravan as we passed through the mountains from the Loc Lac desert to the western forests. I was only a two-star hunter at the time, but it was a simple job, nothing more dangerous than maybe an Arzuros. My brother, Rube, was part of the caravan team though, and I liked to travel. This guy right here was part of the caravan too," Rena said, patting Heine's shoulder with such force, the man nearly lost his footing, "but I hadn't really talked to him before. Anyway, I'd managed to chase off a few nasty little monster during the journey: a pack of Jaggis, a particularly aggressive herd of Bullfango, and so on. But there hadn't been anything really dangerous the entire trip.

"But disaster struck, right at the end of the journey! We were in sight of Perir Town, not a quarter mile away from the walls, the last leg of the trip. But there had been a lot of rain in the area the last week or so, so the ground was wet and muddy. My brother's wagon slipped, and ended up getting a wheel stuck in a huge mud slick, deep enough that the Aptonoth on the yoke weren't able to pull it out without some work. He told the rest of the caravan to pass him and go on ahead, while he tried to wedge the wheel loose. So we did. We pressed on, thinking he'd follow right behind once his wagon was free. We didn't think there'd be any danger, not so close to Perir. Looking back though… I should have stayed with him, just to be sure. It was a bad call I made, thinking we were safe… Lone wagons are far more liable to be attacked than caravans.

"Right as the rest of the wagons got to the city gate, a Great Jaggi and its pack burst out from the woods, attacking my brother's wagon! We almost didn't hear the shouts, thanks to the gates of Perir being so creaky, but by the time we caught on to what was happening, the pack had already killed the Aptonoths drawing the wagon, and were coming after my brother. Rube was smart enough to book it rather than try and fight or hide, but the pack leader was coming after him itself, and was gaining ground fast!

"By this time, I'd turned and was running back to help, but there was no way I was going to be able to get to them before the Great Jaggi ran down my brother. I was still eighty yards or more away, when my brother suddenly tripped and fell to the ground, with the Great Jaggi and its pack right behind him! I felt my heart freeze in my chest, certain I was going to watch Rube die right in front of me…

"And then, _bang_! Heine here jumps off his wagon, swings his rifle off his back, and fires before you could blink! He had to be a hundred yards away at least, down with one knee in the mud and barrel smoking. One shot, and the bullet went straight through the Great Jaggi's eye! The beast stiffened for only a moment, and then it dropped, dead in a second! One shot, one kill. The pack didn't know what hit it! One second they're attacking, the next their leader is dead, not a mark on it save its bleeding eye. They couldn't have scattered faster! My brother was saved, thanks to one amazing shot from this guy right here!"

There were a few whistles and laughs as several of those around them applauded the story. Some of the hunters gave Heine disbelieving looks, clearly having trouble accepting the tale considering the courier's small stature. Others gave wondering looks at the rifle slung over his back. A few of them patting Heine roughly on the back in congratulations, however, before their attentions returned to their work.

"It was just a lucky shot," Heine muttered. Rena smiled at him, but this time it wasn't teasing or sly. This time she looked at him with genuine affection and squeezed his shoulder a little tighter.

"Well, lucky or not, it's thanks to you my brother is still alive." The huntress reached into her chest piece and pulled on a small copper necklace hanging down under her armor, lifting it out. At the end of the small chain was a brass cartridge, the very rifle shell which had held the bullet that killed the Great Jaggi. "And I've got the proof of that luck right here."

"If it's lucky, then I used up all of my luck in that one shot," Heine said, shaking his head. "Seems like my life's gotten infinitely more hectic and dangerous, thanks to a certain individual."

"Sorry," Rena replied with a short laugh, sliding the necklace back under her armor. "But if that's the case, then all your luck is kept safe in my cleavage. I'm sure there are a fair number of men, and _women_ for that matter, who wouldn't mind having their own 'luck' in the same place, eh?"

Heine bristled at the words, and Rena laughed again, before squeezing his shoulder a little tighter. "But as for the business of danger, you needn't worry a bit, Heine. Just make sure you stick close to me, and I'll make sure you're safe, ok? I plan on protecting you, just like you protected Rube, and I'll do it until all the luck you've given up is returned. It's the least I can do for my sharpshooting hero, after all."

Heine smiled slightly at the words. He did have to admit, it had felt good saving Rube's life, even if doing so had scared Heine out of his wits. It made him feel as if he'd really done something with his life aside from hauling boxes, even if it was just a fantastic stroke of luck. Rube had been immensely grateful as well, and the two couriers got along swimmingly after that, becoming good friends. And Rena, despite her overbearing personality, had been eager to befriend him as well. It felt odd having people befriend him for saving a life, but still…

"We have a rockslide!"

Calls began to come up from below, and Heine could see a collection of torches gathering together under a tall arch further down the ramp.

"Welp, that's me," Rena said with a smile, hoisting the barrel under her arm, and Heine nodded.

"Be careful. Try not to get caught up in the explosion… again."

"Aw, are you worried for me? Such a sweetheart," Rena smirked. "Besides, that only happened once, and it wasn't my fault! Well… not entirely my fault. But don't feel too lonely now! You just wait here, and I'll be back before you know it."

Heine grimaced as the huntress gave him one last squeeze with her arm around his shoulders, before releasing him and darting down the ramp, Anti-Dragon bomb in tow. Heine sighed, reaching up and rubbing his shoulder. Rena tended to not keep her strength in check, and her vise-grip on his arm would likely bruise, as strong as she was. Encounters like this were half the reason Heine was trying to gain some muscle, if only to be able to survive Rena's rough, rambunctious treatment.

"You okay, lad?" one of the nearby researchers asked, some older man wearing thick spectacles. "That lass looked half like she was dragging you along with her."

"I'm fine, don't worry," Heine assured him, though he grimaced again as he rolled his shoulders.

"Hmph. 'Fine' doesn't leave bruises, lad. A lass like that… boisterous and reckless don't exactly fit in with a research expedition like this. Besides, you looked like you were trying to push her away back then. If the lass is a bother-"

"She's not a bother," Heine snapped. "She… Look, I know what kind of person she is, okay?"

The researcher frowned uncertainly, but nodded, turning away to return to whatever study he was conducting. Heine watched him go, and shook his head wearily.

Despite what outward appearances might make people think, Heine really did enjoy Rena's company, and found her to be the closest friend he had, except for maybe Rube. Though their physical appearances were drastically different, as well as their personalities and occupations, they had quite a few hobbies they both enjoyed. When she wasn't ruthlessly teasing him, he found her presence rather relaxing. Rena had been quite taken with Lost music, and though Heine wasn't the best vocalist, he knew a fair number of songs from before he'd gotten caught up in the blue crystal, and she would frequently pester him to sing her something new. Books were growing more popular since printing production had boomed in Perir as well, with the introduction of better printing presses, and they had similar tastes in stories. She frequently volunteered to guard his caravans when Geisel Sundries sent him and Rube traveling across the country to trade their wares as well. All in all, since they'd met six months ago, it seemed like they hadn't been apart for over a week at the most.

He even liked her excitable, adventure-seeking nature, to a certain point. Though in times like this, when the huntress' eagerness for adventure got him pulled into strange, unfamiliar situations, he wished she was a bit less enthusiastic. It certainly wasn't the first time it had happened, like that time with the Bullfango that got loose in Perir, or the hunting horn incident…

When it came down to it, though, Heine considered Rena one of the best and closest friends he'd ever had.

Rena was one of the growing number of people who not only accepted the Lost, but openly seemed to revel in their culture and company, and music and literature weren't all there was to it, either. Lost culture had started mixing with hunter culture, as made clear by Rena's vibrant, exhibitionistic armor set, as well as her weapon, to an extent: her great sword, while not Lost-made, had been refurbished by one of the Lost.

It was actually a slab of intricate Meridian metal she'd found during a hunt, and rather than offering it up for study, the huntress got to thinking that Meridian materials might be better used as a weapon than for research. So, when one of Heine's caravans had taken him down to Frost Town, a popular smithing village, she'd tagged along, dragging that massive slab of rusted metal along with her. She'd managed to find a Lost artisan who had been able and willing to mold the slab into something sharp and powerful, and now she had it slung proudly across her back, naming it the Epitaph Blade… or Epitaph Sword, or Epitaph Eternal (Heine didn't remember the exact name, and Rena regularly changed it to something she thought was more powerful-sounding). The whole blade was coated in old writing and ancient symbols, and somehow the letters and images seemed to glow with a pale, yellowish-green light. Several researchers and scientists had asked to examine it since she'd started using it, but it turned out there was little information to actually be gleaned from the runes. It was quite menacing though, and a hell of a weapon by hunting standards, and that was all Rena cared about.

"You coming, nya?" Heine looked down at the words, meeting eyes with the calico Felyne who had been perched on Rena's shoulder earlier.

"Yeah, yeah, just give me a moment," he said, adjusting the rifle strap on his shoulder. "What's your hurry, Cait? I didn't think you'd be one to want to rush down into the depths."

"I'm not! Never, nya!" the Felyne replied, shaking its hands and arms wildly to exaggerate his point. "I'd rather be topside, in the sun! It's dark, and creepy, and scary down here, nya!"

Heine chuckled at the words as Cait glanced about nervously, before leaping up and crawling up onto Heine's shoulder and scanning around nervously. Heine groaned a bit under the weight; the Felyne was wearing full Felyne-sized armor, made of Crimson Qurupeco armor like Rena's, but he bore with it. Cait seemed to enjoy riding on people; maybe he liked the view his Felyne height didn't offer.

Cait was a hunter-Felyne, a rarity in Theron. Felynes going out to hunt monsters was a fairly common practice in other countries, but not so much in this one; most of the time, they simply worked in cities and towns. There were actually more Shakalakas working for the Guild in Theron than Felynes, despite the mask-wearing creatures being considered tribal weirdoes by most people. Occasionally a Felyne would gather up the nerve to become a hunter themselves, though most of the time, they usually acted as a sort of lackey to human hunters. Heine had heard tell of Felyne hunters who were just as revered as human and Wyvernian hunters, but he'd heard that from Cait himself, so it may not have been completely true…

"So why'd you join up with this expedition?" Heine asked.

"Rena made me-ow…" the Felyne replied sourly, and Heine nodded. That sounded familiar.

"You are her partner in the field, after all."

"Hrm. Didn't know what I was getting myself into," Cait sighed miserably. "They don't tell you about the hunter you're being paired with when you sign up to be a hunters' comrade, nya… Figures, I'd get purred up with a huntress as excitable as her."

"You seem to be surviving well enough."

"No thanks to her, nya… I'm lucky I've got some skill playing health horns. I've broken at least twenty of them working for her alone, and they're not cheap, you know?"

"Well, keep it up. If nothing else, all this work as a hunter's comrade is sure to get you some acclaim. You and her did capture that Crimson Peco, after all. Maybe you'll be able to switch to a cushier job in the Guild one of these days, once you've got some more experience under your belt. And mercy knows Rena could use someone like you keeping her down to earth out in the wilds."

"Nya… you may be right," Cait muttered. "You know, I don't know why all the other Felynes keep away from you. You seem like a pretty agreeable person to me, meowst of the time…"

"They stay away from me? I never really noticed… Maybe it's because I was always more of a dog person than cat person back home."

"…I take it back. You're a monster, nya."

Heine chuckled as a loud, rumbling boom shuddered through the tower interior, followed by the sound of collapsing stone and rubble. Shouts for workers began to come up from below, and Heine sighed wearily. "Well, at least there's something for me to do down here."

"Just think: all your work as a courier is paying off, nya!" Cait said merrily. "You've spent so long hauling boxes, now you've been purrmoted to hauling rocks, nyahaha!"

"Oh, shut up, you stupid cat," Heine muttered, striding down the walkway as Cait cackled on his shoulder.

Making his way down the ramp, Heine quickly found where the explosion had come from. A wide hallway, one of the larger ones he'd seen here in the Tower, had suffered a rather notable collapse within it. It was an impressive tunnel, at least thirty yards tall and just as wide, big enough for an Uragaan to stride through easily, the way the researchers were talking. There were also several grooves on both sides of the tunnel, suspected to be used for transport wagons or whatever sort of vehicles the Meridians had at their disposal. A ripple of excitement was going through the researchers now; such grooves seemed to indicate a long tunnel, perhaps even an underground road. There was certain to be a lot to discover beyond the fallen stones!

But first they had to get inside. The bomb blast had managed to unearth a good amount of the debris, and a thin gap had appeared through the cave-in, revealing a long tunnel just beyond the rubble, but the gap was barely wide enough for even the smallest of them to crawl through. Heine sighed again; that's why he was here, he supposed. Several hunters, including Rena, were already pushing stones and small boulders out of the way, as were several men and women like him, hired for grunt work. Calls were going out for more bombs to be brought in, and he could see a couple were being carried down the ramp towards them. Rolling his shoulders, and allowing Cait to leap off, he began striding over towards the rubble, to help the others move the debris out of the way.

"Ah, Heine! There you are!" Heine paused at the familiar voice of his current employer, Harker Renfield.

He hardly seemed the type to be declared a famous hunter, considering his physique. The madman may have been only a few inches shorter than Rena, but he was far lankier, almost to the same degree as Heine. He certainly fit the appearance of a researcher though, wearing thin frameless glasses under a mop of messy blonde hair, which had grown long enough to tie back. He always seemed to have a notepad filled with writing, though how exactly he managed to take notes, Heine couldn't guess; the man's right arm was always kept in a makeshift sling under his coat, hanging loosely over a wide sash he kept wrapped around his midsection. But despite his appearance, and despite his injuries, he somehow managed to command the respect of the other researchers, and even the hunters, and Heine was certain it wasn't just the reputation he had for helping hunt the Alatreon. That accomplishment wouldn't have mattered quite as much to the researchers, and yet they all jumped at his commands.

"I see you're still wandering around," Harker said with a grin. "I'm glad to see Miss Rena hasn't run you into the ground quite yet. She is one of my more… _enthusiastic_ subordinates after all, though I'm not a fan of the danger I put her in sometimes for the sake of my work."

"I'm fine," Heine replied. "And Rena says she likes the work you give her. Not many hunters can say they were the first ones to hunt and kill a new monster after all."

"Ah, yes, the Crimson Qurupeco. Quite the interesting specimen… and she was able to bring it back for study in fairly good condition! Not bad work for a great sword wielder, I must say; their hunts tend to end with the carcass coming back rather brutalized. I'm not sure what to make of how she designed her armor from her reward materials, though. A shame you couldn't have accompanied her though. If Rena's stories of your aim are even half true, you might have been able to kill it more cleanly than she did, and gotten me a better specimen to study."

Heine groaned at the statement, causing Harker to chuckle. "I'm not as good a shot as she says! It was just luck… Besides, it's not like the bullets would really work well anyway…"

Despite the good condition he kept his rifle in, the weapon was essentially useless against most large monsters any half-decent hunter was able to take down with ease. They were just too big, their hides and plating too thick, their pain threshold too high, for a single hunting rifle to be any good. If he had a heavier caliber bullet, or something designed for larger creatures, things might be different, but not with his old gun. Most dangerous monsters had thick plating covering their skulls, so a headshot was about as unlikely to kill a beast as anything else. Heine had gotten lucky with the Great Jaggi, and maybe he could manage to bring down another monster if he hit it in the eye, but chances were good the pack leader would be the only real beast he would manage to take down. The rifle would only work against smaller creatures, like Kelbi, Popo, smaller Aptonoth, Jaggis and their ilk, and maybe a Bullfango if he managed to hit it somewhere its fur was thin.

And humans. They still worked against humans. That had been something Harker had made note of when Heine had met the man, to keep the idea of using rifles against other people from becoming popular. Heine had never fired on another human being, and the thought made him sick to his stomach. But Lost weapons had been made to kill other humans for the most part, and they needed to snuff that idea as best they could. They could curtail their value by declaring how useless firearms were against large monsters, since that was the main concern in these times, though it wouldn't last forever… but it might keep those who would abuse such dangerous weapons from discovering their real value too quickly, and thankfully it seemed to be working so far.

"You had best get used to it, Heine," Harker said, smirking. "If there's one lesson I've learned from my time as a hunter, it's that nearly all of them will use an opportunity to brag about their adventures and achievements. If they don't, they've certainly got a friend or two who's ready and willing to do their bragging for them, whether they want them to or not. And the stories will only get more elaborate over time; just imagine what laws of physics her tale will be breaking in another year or so!"

"At least you're enjoying yourself," Heine replied sourly. "You and everyone else seem to be having the time of your lives, but Rena roped me into this before I knew what was happening."

"Well, at least you're not lacking in friendly company," Harker replied. "But I fear that, for the rest of us, it's not all adventure and discovery. I am… I admit I am worried about what we've found here." Heine was shocked; the researcher hardly seemed to show anything but the most boundless enthusiasm and optimism when it came to his work and research. "The further into this tower we go, the more… concerned I become over the Meridians."

"What do you mean?" Heine asked. "I've seen the rest of the researchers talking, and they're nothing but excited about whatever they've discovered."

"Ah, perhaps," Harker replied with a nod. "I don't blame them either. What we've uncovered of the Meridian's technology and science is certainly something worth getting enthusiastic about. Yet, while their advances may be noteworthy and exciting, what I am discovering about their social structure is… for lack of a better word, concerning."

"What do you mean?"

"I… The evidence is inconclusive. There is little information available about what the Meridians did outside of their work to slay the Alatreon, and overcome the challenge the world presented them. However, some records have been found, and they have not been encouraging. Were they contained incidents? Was what I've read on these walls the result of necessity or need, forced upon them by desperation? Did they choose that way of life, simply because they could? I simply don't have enough information."

"What exactly did they do?"

Harker turned, looking uncertainly at Heine. "They… I shouldn't say, not without more complete information. The data I've collected is inadequate, and I will not allow myself to jump to baseless conclusions. I won't assume what I fear about them. However… I can, with certainty, say the Meridians became involved in a widespread, devastating civil war close to their civilization's end. It may have been why the Alatreon was able to so efficiently destroy them."

"A civil… How did you figure that out? I've been listening to the rest of the researchers prattle on for the last two days and I've never heard anything like that."

"Of course you haven't. They're not looking for it. Those who volunteered for this expedition aren't here to dig up information on the Meridian's culture. They're here for the science and technology, which can be quite fearful in itself. Anything else to them is not worth the time, or can be put off until later." The madman scoffed at the thought. "It's foolish! You cannot just ignore the reasoning behind _why_ such technology was created, or you risk… well, you risk much. But you shouldn't worry, Heine; leave such thoughts to me."

"Personally, I'm more worried about more immediate dangers than the fruits of this expedition's labors…" Heine muttered worriedly, glancing into the darkness of the tunnel the other workers were laboring to open.

"Well, you needn't worry if that's all on your mind, Heine," Harker said encouragingly. "I promised my dear friend Eleanor I'd have you back to her in one piece, and I intend to keep that promise. You have a better head on your shoulders than some folk."

"I guess," Heine replied, slightly flustered at the praise. Then something clicked in his mind, a small warning alarm at Harker's words. "You said you'd get me back to Mrs. Geisel 'in one piece'? Not 'safe and sound'?"

Harker chuckled sheepishly, tugging at his collar. "Erm… ah…"

"Because 'in one piece' isn't exactly the same as 'safe and sound', working for you."

"You really _do_ have a good head on your shoulders," Harker muttered sourly. "You're getting as skilled as Levin is at picking those out…"

"I've done enough jobs for you that I've learned to pay attention to what you say, _and_ how you say it. I still remember the hunting horn incident, you know, even _after_ the concussion."

"Aha… Well, in that case…"

A rumbling noise, accompanied by harried shouts, cut the researcher off. From within the tunnel, a large section of stone and rocks had come loose, tumbling free and rolling across the Meridian stone floor. Several hunters and workers were darting out of the way, trying to avoid getting hit as the wall collapsed outwards, and a couple men carrying barrel bombs darted away, leaving the incendiaries for fear of being crushed.

But thankfully it wasn't too bad, and after a few moments, the collapse ended and the mood of the expedition began to calm down again. Calls for the injured went out as the dust settled, and it seemed they'd escaped with little more than a few scrapes and one twisted ankle. However, once the debris had dwindled, it was discovered the collapse had managed to open up the path they'd been trying to get into. At least, it had widened the gap to a few yards wide, more than enough for people to go through, if not the wagons. Harker's eyes lit up at the sight, and he motioned to Heine to follow him as he approached the opening.

"Wonderful! An entirely new section to study! Heine, see if you and the other workers can move enough of the rocks to get one of the wagons through, so we can-"

Harker's words caught in his throat, however, and his eyes widened in shock. Heine turned, following the researcher's gaze into the darkness of the tunnel. At first, he saw nothing, but after a few moments, he caught sight of a pale light glowing deep within the shadows, a greenish-blue hue which shifted and danced against the rocks. A low, throaty hissing noise began to reverberate across the walls, and it was coming closer…

"Pull back," Harker hissed quietly. Heine blinked in dull confusion, but the researcher motioned frantically. "Now! Get away!"

But before Heine could take a single step, he felt his hair stand on end. The air around him seemed to grow charged, and jolts of static snapped at his fingers as they brushed against the barrel of the gun on his back. There was a wet, snapping sound which began to echo through the cave, and the bluish-green light swelled forward in the darkness. In a few moments, two glowing orbs of light swept into sight, and the raspy breathing grew faster and louder. One of the other researchers yelped in fright, stumbling backwards and dropping her lantern, shattering the glass orb on the floor. The oil inside ignited, sending a small column of flame into the air, and light flared through the tunnel. The glowing orbs froze, the raspy breaths hissing in surprise as the flames lit up the walls of the cave, revealing the creature before them.

It was a Gigginox… or at least, it looked like one. Heine had always thought Gigginox flesh was white, but whatever this creature was, its skin was a sickly goldish-green color, and its eyes glowed an eerie aquamarine, rather than the purple of a regular Gigginox. And in its mouth, rather than hissing puffs of purple, poisonous haze, sparks and shoots of voltage were jumping between the creature's teeth.

"A subspecies!" Harker gasped in awe. "Fascinating! And it controls electricity? I wouldn't have thought-"

"Get back!" Rena shouted, appearing behind them and grabbing Harker by the collar, physically tossing him back. One of the other hunters yelped in surprise as the mad researcher slammed into him, sending him sliding backwards as he grabbed hold of Harker. Rena pointed back at the hunter and snapped at him. "Get him and the rest out of here!"

The other hunter nodded, wrapping his arms around Harker and dragging the researcher back up the ramp. Harker was protesting profusely, demanding to watch the monster in action, but to no avail. Heine jumped, however, as Rena's eyes snapped towards him next.

"You too! Get out of here before-"

A squeal from the subspecies, and the crackling of static pulled the huntress' attention back to the Gigginox. Lightning jumped along the creature's countless fangs, and arcs of energy began crawling over the beast's body. A strained hissing noise curled from the creature's sickly maw, and a swell of energy gurgled up from the monster's belly. With a retching sound, the subspecies disgorged a glowing, crackling ball of yellow energy, which flew through the air towards Rena.

The huntress moved to dive out of the way, but the electric orb dropped to the ground faster than expected. Rather than bursting, however, as soon as the ball touched the rocks, it split apart into three separate spheres of electricity, which crawled across the ground like insects. Rena yelped in surprise as she found one of them heading in her direction, and swept her great sword around, slamming it into the earth and bracing herself behind the metal slab.

The orb crashed into the great sword, and Rena cried out in pain as the electricity jolted through her blade. While a lot of the voltage shot through the metal and into the soil the tip was embedded into, quite a bit also shot up through the hilt of the blade. Electricity arced across Rena's arm, punching into her chest piece and knocking her backwards. Her vibrant Crimson Qurupeco armor seemed to catch the voltage, however, dissipating much of it and sending the rest sparking down into the feathers protruding from her leggings, discharging several small arcs of electricity into the dirt.

Rena was left gasping for breath from the strain of the attack, and the Gigginox hissed in frustration at the huntress, lurching towards her. Rena recovered quickly enough, leaping out of the way as the beast lunged, its rubbery maw trying to snap down around her. With a quick spin, the huntress leapt towards the Gigginox's tail as the beast tried to skid to a halt, swinging her great sword down onto the subspecies before the creature could react.

However, with a loud, ringing sound, the thick great sword ricocheted off the creature's tail, the Gigginox's rubbery hide turning the blade aside. Rena yelped in shock as her weapon rebounded, sending her nearly toppling onto her back as she struggled to regain control of the heavy blade. The Gigginox hissed venomously, twisting its head around to glare at the huntress with its glowing green 'eyes', before its tail began to twist about, snapping out to a ridiculous length and cracking like a whip towards Rena. The huntress had barely managed to pull her weapon into a proper defensive position when the surprisingly sturdy appendage smashed into the flat of her blade with the force of a cannon, sending her flying backwards.

The lightning-slinging subspecies twisted around, turning to face Rena again as the huntress tumbled over the rocks, but before it could, it caught sight of Heine. The courier froze as the beast's pale green sensors honed in on him, and the creature growled hungrily. Heine found himself paralyzed in terror as the Gigginox advanced, its mouth widening as the beast prepared to sink its fangs down around him and devour him. His hands shook violently on the stock of his rifle, quavering uselessly as the beast bore down on him.

A loud yowling snapped him out of his terror, as a small, neon red and green object lunged through the air towards the Gigginox' face. Cait howled fearfully as he slammed into the subspecies' head, swinging wildly with the small sword he had in his hands, and the creature screeched in shock, twisting its head to shake the furry hunter loose. The blade was made of Crimson Qurupeco materials, however, so even as the Felyne-sized weapon cut into the Gigginox's hide, the sparks it sent up with each swing only seemed to agitate the subspecies as the creature snapped its head around, trying to dislodge the Felyne.

In its wild swinging, the Gigginox managed to kick up a few stones, one of which smacked Heine in the thigh. The small jolt of pain was enough to knock the courier from his petrification, and in a flurry of terror, Heine turned and bolted. His mind was still muddled out of fear, so it didn't really occur to him to run back towards the expedition group, but instead he ran towards a large boulder which had fallen from the wall, sliding behind it and hoping the creature wouldn't catch sight of him.

The sounds of battle and his worry for Rena forced him to at least peek around the corner to see if his friend was alright. From the looks of things, the fight was turning sour. Cait had finally been dislodged from the creature's head, but a couple other hunters had entered the fray by now, and were trying to get in close to attack the Gigginox.

Every attempt was met with opposition by the creature, however. The beast had some sort of discharge attack which sent a short blast of electricity out of its entire body, electrocuting and paralyzing any hunter who got caught up in it. None of the hunters were ranged attackers, so they had no choice but to try and get within striking range, while avoiding such area attacks. One huntress with a short sword and another with dual swords were able to rush in and cut at the the creature's wings, but the subspecies seemed capable of unleashing its discharge on a moment's notice. Also, when it snapped its neck or tail at its assailants, it was able to cover a wide area, pushing them back even further. One of the other hunters dropped to the floor when he'd been shocked, and only survived thanks to Rena slashing out at the creature, which let another hunter grab the fallen one and retreat.

What little they could do when the opportunity to attack appeared seemed to be mostly ineffective. The subspecies' hide, despite wriggling and stretching like rubber, was hard enough that even Rena's powerful great sword had trouble cutting through. It seemed all their efforts were managing to do was make the Gigginox angrier with each passing moment, as the beast's movements grew wilder and more aggressive.

Then they finally seemed to push the beast over the edge. One of the hunters managed to strike the Gigginox in the head with a large hammer, nearly stunning the creature and sending it stumbling backwards, shaking its head. Rena charged in, using the momentary break to try and strike the beast with an exceptionally powerful blow, bringing her great sword crashing down onto the subspecies' wing. This time she managed to deal a decent strike, tearing into the creature's flesh and sending the beast squealing backwards in pain.

But as the hunters charged forward to attack again, the Gigginox leapt backwards, pushing itself with its wings and sending a small gust of wind which staggered the hunters. It landed near the collapsed entry to the tunnel it had come from, its glowing organs flaring. It hissed aggressively as its skin rippled, spontaneously shifting from its goldish-green to a violent, dangerous red hue. The creature seemed to inflate slightly, planting its feet firmly on the ground around it, before its head and tail both snapped out, and the Gigginox unleashed a devastating, ear-splitting screech.

Heine cried out in pain, clutching his ears as the noise rattled his skull, making the rocks around him shiver. He'd never heard something as painfully loud as this! He'd heard Great Jaggi cries, and even a Rathian roar once when Rena had dragged him off to see an arena fight, but this was something on a completely different level! He nearly passed out from the intensity of it, but somehow managed to keep himself conscious as the last dregs of the roar faded away.

Some of the hunters took even longer to recover, however, and the moment the creature cut off its terrible screech it lashed its head out, swinging at the hunters with two swift swipes of its stretchy neck. Three of the hunters were struck by the beast's skull, sent flying backwards across the stones by the force of it. Only Rena had been lucky enough to have a weapon which could block the blow, and even then, the huntress was knocked completely on her back, scrambling to get to her feet.

The beast hissed viciously, lightning crackling over its body as its glowing sensors snapped between the hunters. It stalked towards them, but the creature crawled too close to a trio of bombs left behind when the monster had appeared. A stray bolt of electricity lanced out from the Gigginox's maw and struck one of the bombs. With a thunderous blast, the barrel detonated, sending a shockwave and rush of fire across the rocky tunnel. The electric subspecies squealed in pain, reeling back as the fire washed over it.

The bomb was close enough to the rest of the explosives to detonate them as well, and with a drumbeat of detonations, the other two Anti-Dragon bombs erupted almost simultaneously, ripping through rock and stone and blasting apart the walls and floor of the cavern. A wave of fire and stone rushed through the cavern, and Heine yelped in fright, pushing himself further behind the rock as the devastation blazed past him, singing his clothes and sending rocks and small boulders smashing against his only line of defense.

The Gigginox squealed in pain as the blasts nearly knocked it completely on its back, but it managed to stay upright, wheezing in pain as it staggered away from the hunters and blast zone. As the flames died away and the debris settled, the creature's flesh shifted colors again, switching back from red skin to sickly green. The hunters were recovering as well by now, and Rena and the others were approaching the subspecies again, feeling more confident now that the monster was injured.

The Gigginox hissed menacingly at the hunters, and lightning began to dance in the beast's mouth. A swell of yellow electricity began to grow in the creature's maw, and the hunters braced themselves in anticipation of the attack. However, the moment Heine assumed the Gigginox would unleash the lightning orb, the voltage in its throat fizzled out. The hunters looked at each other in confusion, and in that moment of hesitation, the creature spun about and bolted, crawling away from them as fast as it could manage, slithering over the rocks and boulders and making its best effort to escape.

The hunters were so dumbfounded at the sight of the fleeing Gigginox that it was several seconds before they snapped back to attention and rushed to chase the creature. By then, however, the beast had long since crawled away into the darkness, and while the glow of the creature's organs could still be seen, it was moving too quickly through the dark cavern for any of the hunters to catch it. Disgruntled muttering began to echo through the tunnel as the hunters broke away, realizing they'd missed their chance to slay a new beast, though some seemed secretly relieved the creature hadn't kept fighting.

"Heine!" The courier nearly jumped out of his skin at the shout, flailing about in terror. But a pair of firm hands grabbed hold of his shoulders, and Heine looked up fearfully, meeting Rena's gray eyes. She was looking at him worriedly, eyeing him up and down. "Are you alright? You're not hurt are you? You should have run when I told you to!"

"I… I… I'm sorry, I…" Heine hung his head ashamedly. "I just… I couldn't…"

Rena smiled at him, squeezing his arms comfortingly. "Don't worry, Heine. I know. It's always hard the first time you see something that dangerous. I'm just glad you're okay." She patted his arm and helped him to his feet. "Come with me. I'm sure none of the researchers will need you for a while, especially with the hubbub of a Gigginox subspecies being talked about. I find there's one good way to calm down after something like this: alcohol. I know for certain a couple of the other hunters have a few bottles of distilled Nulberry wine hidden in the back of one of the wagons. That'll knock you on your butt in a hot minute. And it'll get rid of the jitters too; they don't call it liquid courage for nothing!"

Heine nodded dumbly at the words, but allowed himself to be pulled to his feet by the huntress. Rena turned, motioning towards the caravan and heading that way. Nonetheless, Heine still needed a moment to catch his breath and calm down a little bit longer, and remained next to the boulder he'd hidden behind. He glanced over to where the Gigginox fight had taken place, where singed lines cut across the earth following the trails the lightning orbs had left, and the wide crater the Anti-Dragon bombs had blown into the earth, actually fracturing the near-impenetrable Meridian stone. Heine shook his head and sighed as he began to tail after Rena, his thoughts a clutter of jumbled emotions.

Heine felt his heart leap up into his throat, however, as the rocks under him shifted. The path began to splinter and break into pieces, collapsing downwards as a deep groaning reverberating through the tunnel. Shouts of fear and confusion began to come from the wagons, and several of the Popo pack animals began yelping in terror as people scrambled to get away from the tunnel. From the center of the blast zone where the Anti-Dragon bombs had detonated, the earth began to crumble, collapsing into the ground. Heine yelped, scrambling to escape the cave-in, but he wasn't fast enough. The collapse caught him in a couple moments, and the earth gave way below him.

"Heine!" The courier looked up, spotting Rena dashing towards him, her eyes wide with horror. She reached out to grab his arm as Cait clung to her shoulder, yowling fearfully. Heine stretched out his hand, but knew immediately the huntress wouldn't be able to pull him to safety. The stable earth was still fifteen yards away, and as the rocks dropped out from under him, he knew he'd never make it.

To his shock, Rena dashed forward anyway, leaping across the crumbling earth and grabbing hold of him. She spun about, making as if to throw him to safety, but before she could, the earth dropped out from underneath them. Rena gasped in horror as they dropped, sweeping an arm around him and clutching him tightly as they fell into darkness.

Above them, the lights of the fires and those of the research expedition faded away as the earth swallowed them up, pulling them down into the depths of the earth.

* * *

**Author's Note: Please Review! Chapters will be released on a bi-weekly basis from now on, at least until the end of Underground.**

**So, yeah, new characters! You'll be seeing a lot of Heine, Rena, and Cait over the next few chapters, just to let you know. I was tempted to name Heine 'Simon', after Simo Häyhä, who is a rather impressive person, but I just honestly didn't think it fit. And as for Cait, it's been pointed out that I really didn't mention the Felynes all that much in TLC, and I'm trying to bring them more into the story than they were in TLC.**

**I always like to contemplate, when I read a story, what sort of things the writer has typed into Google to help them research what they're writing. I mean, for Underground, I had things like 'parts of a dam', 'wagon trains', 'Panama Canal', 'parts of a castle', 'how much blood can a human lose before dying'… and so on. Anyone else out there have to type in stuff like that?**

**One more thing... I actually have a place in the story for a couple more OC characters! This time I'd appreciate ones with personality, rather than just appearances and armor/weapon selections. I apologize to those that sent in more simple characters, but I didn't need anything complex for those. But yeah, if you've got a character with a little more depth to them, send them in and they might make an appearance. **

**Reading: _Jojo's Bizarre Adventure_ by Hirohiko Araki (WTF THIS MANGA IS SO WEIRD), _Maoyuu Maou Yuusha_ by Touno Mamare, _The Hunters Oath: Master Corps_ by Thomas A. Hawk  
****Playing: Pokemon X, MH3U, Animal Crossing New Leaf, Pathfinder, Bastion  
****Listening: Crit Juice Podcast, Hello Internet Podcast, Welcome to Night Vale Podcast, Relient K, CatHatFiddle, Poets of the Fall, Cake, Pet Shop Boys  
Watching: The Prince of Egypt**


	7. Underground - Part 2

Underground – Part 2

_Disclaimer: Monster Hunter is copyright Capcom. All the characters in this chapter are mine. _

_Edited by: Hoenn Master96 and Thomas A. Hawk_

_This one-shot is CANON with The Lost Civilization_

_Inspired by __A Journey to the Center of the Earth__ by Jules Verne_

* * *

"Heine? Heine! Oh, mercy, Heine, please wake up!"

Heine awoke to a dull, painful throbbing in his skull. Rena's voice was a desperate whisper in his ears, and he could feel her arms wrapped tightly around him. Honestly, it was a surprise he could feel that much; his whole body felt battered and bruised. It took a few moments for him to remember how he'd gotten into this condition, before recalling the oddly-colored Gigginox, the Anti-Dragon Bombs detonating, and the cave-in which had followed, sending him and Rena into the abyss…

"Rena…" he murmured, reaching up and squeezing her arm.

"Oh, thank goodness!" Rena gasped, and Heine groaned as the huntress hugged him even tighter. "I was afraid… afraid you might have-"

"Can't… breathe!"

"Urk! Sorry!" she sputtered, releasing him and allowing him to catch his breath. He nodded thankfully, pushing himself into a sitting position.

"No… no problem. Where are we?" Heine asked, rubbing his head and looking around. It was dark… very dark. He could barely see Rena kneeling next to him, much less what lay around them. All he could tell was that they were in a round cave about ten yards wide. There was a dim glow creeping over the rocks from somewhere further on through the cavern, but he couldn't tell how far it was. The only other light was the dim glow emitted by the runes on Rena's sword, tinting the rocks around them a pale green.

"I don't know," Rena admitted, shaking her head. "I was knocked out after the cavern collapsed, and woke up here, next to you. And… and it looks like we're not going to be able to get out the same way we came in…"

The huntress looked up behind him, and Heine followed her gaze, his heart sinking at the sight. An impenetrable barricade of fallen boulders and rubble completely blocked off the path behind them. If that was the direction they'd really come from, there was simply no hope at all they'd be able to return the same way. No light was coming through any of the gaps in the boulders, and Heine couldn't feel a breeze slipping through either… No, he and Rena were well and thoroughly trapped.

A tinny clinking sound quietly rattled from further in the cavern and was slowly growing louder, making Heine tense fearfully. He reached back awkwardly, sparing a moment of relief in the knowledge that he still had his rifle strapped to his back, before unslinging the firearm and aiming it shakily into the darkness. Before he could do anything more, however, Rena reached forward and grabbed the barrel of the gun, pushing it towards the ground.

"Hold on! It's just Cait!" she said quickly. Sure enough, a moment later, a small shape came slinking out of the darkness, taking the form of the calico Felyne in his vibrant feather armor. Heine sighed in relief, letting himself slacken.

"Did you find anything?" Rena asked Cait, as Heine nervously slung the rifle back over his shoulder.

The Felyne shook his head sadly. "Sorry, nya… Nothing but darkness and rocks. Nyo branching paths though, so purrhaps we could find the source of this light, nya?"

"Yeah… yeah, that's probably a good idea. I don't know where that Gigginox got to, but it might be around here somewhere. We need to find somewhere safe to stay just in case. Can you walk, Heine?"

"Sure, no… no problem," the courier muttered, groaning in pain as he pushed himself to his feet. The tumble he'd taken during the cave-in had left him battered and bruised, but he miraculously seemed to be in one piece, and nothing felt broken.

"Great, let's get going then," the huntress said, reaching forward and grabbing hold of his hand. "Don't let go. We can't afford to get separated in this darkness."

Rena was right; in the dim light of the cavern, Heine couldn't see very far ahead, despite how good his sight was. Cait had to lead the both of them over the rocks and uneven terrain, since his Felyne eyes provided him far better night vision than either of the humans possessed, but even he stumbled and tripped occasionally. Rena was the worst off, stubbing her toe and slipping quite frequently in the darkness, causing her to sling curses left and right.

"I think we're coming up on something," Heine whispered quietly. The pale light ahead of them was growing brighter, and whatever it was, they would be upon it soon. Rena squeezed his hand in acknowledgement, and her other hand tightened on the hilt of her great sword. Cait shifted in his armor nervously, releasing a tinny noise through the cavern.

Despite the constantly brightening light, it still took them almost ten minutes of silent walking before they finally reached the source. By then the glow was bright enough that all three of them could clearly see the floor before them, and Heine started to hope that maybe their path led to the outside. They still clung nervously to each other, though, as they finally turned the last corner, and gasped in shock.

Heine hadn't known what to expect to find, but an immense, well-lit cavern, filled with lush plant life and fauna, certainly hadn't been on the list.

They had entered an absolutely massive underground chamber, at least a mile long and a hundred yards tall. Off in the distance, Heine could make out several other paths and caverns like the one he and Rena had come through, splitting off through the earth in dozens of other directions.

In the chamber itself, however, an expansive grassland spread out before them. Thick green grass covered the earth, with flowers and brush dotting the fields as well. On the far side of the cavern, a thick forest filled with sturdy trees and bushes created a large copse which curved around the edge of the chamber. There wasn't only plant life in the great cavern, however. Herds of Kelbi and Popo grazed peacefully, nibbling on the grass as some of the smaller ones darted around playfully. At the center of it all was a wide lake, where water swelled up from a spring. Dozens of small streams and creeks branched out in every direction, filling the massive chamber with life.

Above everything was the most mysterious sight of all, the source of light for the whole chamber: a massive cluster of yellowish-white crystals breaking through the ceiling. There were hundreds of them, all gathered together in a single array, enough that their mass could easily fill the arena in Orage Dell! And these were only the ones Heine could see; there could have been countless more crystals just as brilliant hidden beyond the ceiling, the tip of some metaphorical iceberg of glowing crystals. They acted as an artificial sun in the sky, and not only in terms of light. Even here, on the far edges of the cavern, Heine could feel a soothing warmth caressing his skin, just as the real sun would warm his body under its rays. To aid in the growth of so many plants and animals… there were more to these gems than simple illumination.

"Never seen anything like this before, nya…" Cait muttered in awe.

"Amazing…" Rena gasped, gazing around in awe. "Is this… I never imagined anything like this could be possible…"

Heine tried to agree, but the words caught in his throat. After everything they'd seen within the Meridian tower and after being so ruthlessly attacked by the Gigginox subspecies, he had feared there would be nothing but trouble for him, Rena, and Cait now that they were separated from the rest of the expedition. This place they'd found, however, was so unbelievably beautiful that he could barely find the words to describe it.

He yelped in surprise, however, when Rena suddenly grabbed his arm and dragged him down towards the lake in the center with an excited look on her face. Cait yelped, darting after them in fear of being left behind.

At first Heine tried to argue, telling Rena they should try to be more cautious in such an unknown place since they didn't know what to expect down here. The huntress kept pulling him along, though, and as soon as his boots touched the cool, thick grass, his protests were silenced. Everything was so lush and alive, despite being so far underground, that Heine was simply left in awe. Rena started talking non-stop, pointing excitedly at every little thing she saw and wondering out loud at how such a beautiful place could be real.

Heine found himself surprised by Rena's actions, however. Despite the lighthearted attitude she was displaying, Heine could tell she was scouring the area constantly in search of any threats which might endanger them. Rena had always given him the impression of being whimsical, but now the huntress had taken a far more serious attitude than what he usually saw of her. Was this how she acted out in the wilds during hunts? She always acted playful around him… Was she doing all this in order to keep him calm? After his pathetic display during the Gigginox subspecies' attack, it wouldn't be out of the question…

However, as Rena continued to talk, Heine was amazed at how much the huntress could actually pick out. He was particularly proud of his eyes, but Rena was just so knowledgeable, able to spot things Heine wouldn't even think to look at. She was able to pick out and identify certain trees and shrubs, and easily spotted several game trails the Kelbi and Popos would travel through. She even managed to safely keep Heine from walking straight through a path of poison Felvine, for which Heine was immensely thankful. In a few minutes she was able to deduce that it would be easy for so many Popos and Kelbi to survive in this subterranean chamber, despite the circumstances. Were all hunters this well-versed in nature, or was it just Rena?

He asked her as much, and the huntress chuckled sheepishly. "Ha, well… dad always told me I should know about the world around me if I was going to be running around trying to kill the nastier monsters out there, so he had me read a lot of natural science books. At least, as many as he could get hold of back home in Orage Dell. It's all really interesting, you know? I've been talking to Mrs. Renfield too. She's really smart about all this stuff."

Heine was shocked. All this time, he'd thought Rena was like all the other hunters out there, charging around in the hopes of battering some beast to death for the challenge and glory of it. Sure he liked her company, and appreciated her strength and courage for what it was, but he'd never imagined that she was nearly as knowledgeable about the world around them as she turned out to be. Now here she was, dragging him through this underground haven, pointing at every rock and bush and explaining in a stream of words what it was called, what it was for, and why it was integral to the ecosystem of this whole area. Heine listened intently, a charmed smile on his face as the huntress carried on, leading him and Cait toward the lake in the center of the cavern.

The water was pristine as they approached it, clear and cool. There were even fish swimming around, from small Popfish to larger Glutton Tuna in the deeper waters. Just looking at the water lapping against the shoreline reminded the three of them exactly how thirsty they really were. It had been an unknown amount of time since they'd fallen into this place, and the three of them were positively parched.

Rena didn't hesitate at all, dropping to her knees and dunking her head into the water, slurping it down greedily. Heine grinned in amusement as he pulled out a small canteen, opting to fill it up and drink from it rather than the uncouth (though admittedly refreshing-looking) method Rena had chosen. Cait leaned in like Rena did, though he lapped carefully at the water, clearly living up to his cat-like nature and aversion to getting wet. Heine drained half of his canteen before his thirst was quenched, pulling away from his canteen with a gasp of relief before reaching down to top it off. Rena was still slugging down the water with her face half in the lake, and Cait had sated himself, pulling away from the water and removing his helmet to groom himself.

Heine's canteen was almost full again when Rena wrenched herself from the water, gasping for air and coughing once or twice. Heine chuckled a bit as the huntress caught her breath, pulling her headdress off and wiping the water from her face and hair. However, his breath hitched in his throat at the sight of her, water droplets sliding down her face and neck and under her armor, before continuing to trail down her abdomen and giving her skin a lustrous sheen as she squeezed the remaining water from her hair. He felt his face heating up at the sight and quickly turned to focus on a nearby herd of Kelbi, not wanting the huntress to catch him staring or see his flustered expression.

The moment ended abruptly when Rena's stomach suddenly rumbled, a noise not incomparable with a Gobul's deep growls. The huntress actually flushed in embarrassment, clutching her gut and chuckling sheepishly.

"Uh… well… I guess it's been a while since we last had something to eat too. I might be a bit peckish."

At the thought of food, Heine's own stomach turned over a bit. As long as it had been since they'd had something to drink, they hadn't eaten in just as long. Even Cait was looking longingly into the lake as several fish swam through the shallows.

"I guess we could all use a bite…" Heine replied. "Do you still have any rations on you?"

"I do, but…" The huntress gazed around the cavern. "We don't know how long we're going to be here, do we? Maybe we should save them for now. They keep for a few weeks if you're careful with them after all. Besides, as a hunter who uses them regularly, trust me when I say that they don't taste very good at all. I did see some berry bushes back in the trees, though… There were some Kelbi eating from them, so they shouldn't be poisonous, either."

Heine nodded in agreement with the idea, and though Cait was still eyeing the fish in the lake, the Felyne decided to tag along since nobody had a fishing rod and he wasn't desperate enough to willingly get wet. Once again Rena proved her survivalist skills, and in just under twenty minutes had managed to find an exceptionally large and bountiful berry bush close to the edge of a field. She didn't recognize the purple berries growing on the branches, but they were large and ripe, and there were plenty of them. A few cautious nibbles of the purple orbs were all it took before the three of them were happily sitting on the ground, plucking the sweet-tasting berries from the branches one after the other. Half an hour later, all three of them were content, wiping the lingering juices of the berries from their lips.

The sound of a snapping twig caught their attention, however. Heine and Cait both jumped in fright, but Rena was on her feet in a moment with her hand reaching up to grip the hilt of her great sword. She paused, however, upon realizing it was just a young Kelbi that had wandered near them. Rena sighed, relaxing from the brief scare.

To their surprise, rather than running away, the Kelbi instead cocked its head and wiggled its ears, looking at the three of them curiously. Even more surprising, the small herbivore walked cautiously towards them, coming straight up to Rena and sniffing at her Crimson Qurupeco faulds.

"Wow…" Rena gasped, reaching out to the Kelbi. The little creature leaned forward, pressing its nose against the huntress' hand, smelling her curiously. After a few moments, the Kelbi leaned in, allowing Rena to pet it and scratch the small herbivore behind the ears. "It's so friendly… and it's not frightened at all. I've never seen a Kelbi that didn't bolt when I got closer than ten yards from it…"

"It's probably never seen a human before," Heine speculated, as Rena continued to scratch the Kelbi, much to the creature's delight. "Its ancestors probably haven't either, for who knows how many generations. A place like this… There's no way humans have been here in centuries, at least. They don't _know _they're supposed to be wary of us."

Rena smiled, rubbing under the Kelbi's chin. The little creature shivered appreciatively, its eyes closing as a mewling sound rippled from its throat. "We could stay here," she said wistfully. "It's nice here, isn't it? We could wait for the research team to blast through and find us. There's plenty of space here, and it's warm… and I could always hunt us some food, friendly though it may be."

"I doubt the 'food' would be so willing to let you pet them like this once you've killed one or two of them," Heine chuckled, and Rena grinned.

"Maybe I'll go after the Popos instead. They look meatier. Or we could just fish and keep them all happy with us, assuming we can jerry-rig a fishing rod. I'm a pretty fair angler when it comes down to it, and I've seen a few herbs we could use spices… though my cooking skill may leave a bit to be desired."

"Oh, I'm aware," Heine said with a grimace. "I still remember the last time I tried your cooking."

"It wasn't _that _bad… was it?"

"Rube called it a 'culinary abortion,' and I'm inclined to agree."

"I think I lost half my sense of smell beclaws of the fumes, nya," Cait added, tapping his nose pointedly and cackling.

"Oh, what is this, Make-Fun-of-Rena's-Cooking-Skill Day?" the huntress huffed.

"Of course not," Heine replied, chuckling. "That would imply you actually had any cooking skill to begin with."

"I know where you sleep, Heine."

"What, are you going to cook me breakfast in bed? Because that would be _far _more terrifying than any other threat you could-"

Heine's words cut off, however, when the Kelbi's body tensed. Its ears twitched wildly, snapping back and forth as its eyes darted about fearfully. It turned and darted away, galloping across the grassy field in abject terror, and the other creatures in the field were acting the same. Herds of Popo and Kelbi were clustering together and moving away from the lake and towards the trees as fast as they could .

"What's going on?" Heine asked nervously, pushing himself to his feet. "What are… what's got them riled up?"

Rena was on her feet in a flash, gripping her great sword's hilt tightly as she looked around apprehensively. "Something… something's coming. Something that threatens them. Come on, Heine! We have to get to the trees before-"

"There! There!" Cait suddenly yowled in terror, pointing towards the ceiling of the cavern.

Heine and Rena's eyes darted skyward, and the courier blinked painfully as his gaze landed on the glowing crystal hanging from the ceiling. It took a few moments of adjustment, but he realized there was something else on the ceiling, a shadowy mass crawling across the roof of the cavern, circling around the false sun. Then the shape fell loose from the ceiling and plummeted towards the grassy fields. The object twisted in the air before snapping wide, unfolding like a kite and sweeping over the earth.

As the creature left the glare of the great crystal, Heine realized it was the Gigginox subspecies! He saw burn wounds and scars coating the creature's body, but the beast seemed unhindered in its flight nonetheless. The hissing rattle of the worm's breathing rushed over them as the terrible beast glided through the air, tailing after the fleeing herds and closing in on the lagging members.

The Gigginox swiftly caught up with one of the Popos which had been trailing behind and crashed down on top of it with a twisted _crunch_, dragging the panicked creature to the ground. The herbivore struggled to pull itself loose of the worm's grip, but before it could the green Gigginox crackled with electricity. Its sinuous, rubbery head twisted around as the subspecies wrapped its mouth over the Popo's skull and discharged its energy. There was a flash of voltage, and a sickening squealing from the furry creature as the electricity ripped into the herbivore's skull.

The smaller creature's legs bucked and kicked a couple more times, then lay still. There was no victory screech from the Gigginox; the beast simply kept its mouth wrapped around the Popo's skull, and its neck and head wrenched around as the vile worm began to 'chew' its prey.

Heine was so horrified by the display of violence and brutality, he almost didn't realize that Rena had grabbed hold of him and was dragging him across the field. Cait ran alongside them, throwing furtive glances back towards the lightning-slinging subspecies as the huntress pulled the courier on towards the trees.

As he twisted around, trying to get into step and run alongside them, his foot caught against an uprooted stone, sending him toppling to the ground with a hiss of pain. Rena had him back to his feet in a flash, but as they continued their rush for the trees, Heine spared a glance back towards the subspecies, and was horrified to see that the beast had ceased its gross consumption of the Popo's body upon hearing Heine fall. Its piercing aquamarine sensory organs glared directly at the three of them, and electricity jumped between its countless teeth, even as blood dripped from its fearsome maw. The Gigginox howled furiously in recognition of them, its flesh rippling and shifting to a sinister red. Rena yelped in fear, pushing Heine faster.

There was a crackling sound behind them, and a sudden glow of pale yellow light was the only warning they had before a thick orb of electricity flew through the air a few feet to their left. Rena cursed fearfully, pushing Heine to the side as the orb struck the earth, splitting apart into three smaller orbs which tore through the grass before smashing into a line of rocks and 'popping' in a burst of energy.

The soft, squishy sound of the Gigginox's footfalls, as well as crackling static, sounded behind them as the creature rushed after them, hissing in rage. Heine pushed himself as hard as he could, desperate to escape the creature, but he could hear the beast gaining, and the tree line was still at least thirty yards away. The sound of the Gigginox's ragged, strained breathing sounded as though it was right behind him, pressing him to rush as fast as his feet could carry him.

Somehow the three of them managed to reach the trees before the beast could catch them, rushing into the dark shadows of the foliage. The lightning-slinging subspecies howled in fury as its prey leapt into the thicket, ducking under the low-hanging branches, weaving between the trunks of the trees, and leaping over the thick roots knotting the earth.

Heine spared another look back, however, as a loud crunching noise followed them. In its rage, the Gigginox was stubbornly continuing to pursue the three of them through the forest. Its wide and rubbery body made the attempt a challenge, as it was forced to twist and contort its wings in wild shapes to slither between the trunks. Twigs and branches twisted and snapped as its hardened wings clipped them, littering the dirt below with fallen debris. Sparks of voltage leapt from the beast's maw, surging violently as the Gigginox prepared to launch more lightning orbs. The creature wasn't able to get a clear shot at the trio, however, and the density of the thicket was slowing it down dramatically. It simply wasn't nimble enough to keep up.

Soon enough, the three had managed to elude the subspecies in the trees, leaving its awkward lumbering through the thicket as nothing more than an echo behind them. A screech of fury ripped through the forest as the beast roared in frustration, flashes of electricity leaping skyward as the creature vented its anger.

Heine felt a wave of relief at the distant sound, but in his moment of laxity, failed to watch his footing. His boot caught up under one of the roots below him, and he fell headlong to the earth. Rena yelped, reaching back to help him, but as she tried to pull him back to his feet, her own footing was lost. The huntress toppled to the ground as well, sliding down into a small gully and dragging Heine along with her. The pair clumsily tumbled down the slope, Cait wailing as he chased after them, before Heine and Rena rolled into a stream.

Heine gasped for air, coughing as he pushed himself out of the water. Cait had managed to keep out of the creek, but was doused by a splash when Heine and Rena had hit the water, leaving the Felyne blubbering as he shook the water from his fur. Rena groaned painfully as she sat up in the creek bed, rubbing her back painfully as she got back to her own feet as well.

"Sorry…" Heine muttered apologetically, but Rena shook her head assuringly.

"It's fine, Heine. As long as you're alright, we-" The huntress grew silent, however, as a deep thumping sound reverberated through the forest. Rena's eyes darted around fearfully, searching for the source, before her eyes widened in realization. "Get down!" she gasped, rushing towards Heine.

The courier yelped as the huntress wrapped an arm around him, yanking him under the branches of one of the nearby trees and pressing him against the trunk. A few moments later, a suction sound passed over them, accompanied by a faint hissing. Looking up through the leaves, Heine could just make out the shape of the Gigginox subspecies, crawling across the ceiling with its head twisting about in search of them.

"We need to hide, nya!" Cait hissed fearfully, his fur standing on end as his eyes darted around. He turned, motioning urgently downstream. "This way! Quickly meow!"

Heine frowned uncertainly, but Rena didn't hesitate, grabbing him by the arm and dragging him along as the Felyne darted along the shore. The three ran for nearly fifty yards before coming across a tall, fallen tree which lay over the stream. Cait turned, darting towards the stump where the base had been eaten away by both time and water lapping against it. Rena followed, dragging Heine along, diving into the darkness of the hollow and dragging herself as far back into the stump as she could. There was barely enough room inside for the three of them, but Rena quickly turned around, sitting down in the foot-high water, before grabbing Heine and Cait and dragging both of them down with her.

Heine found himself essentially sitting in Rena's lap, waist-deep in water, and frantically shifted his rifle to avoid getting it wetter than it already was. Cait hissed irritably as the Felyne found himself dunked in the stream water. Rena snapped a hand over both of their mouths, cocking her head to listen. Heine froze fearfully, hearing the rubbery suction of the Gigginox crawling across the ceiling, and the beast's angry hissing as it scouring the forest for them. The three sat in silence as the subspecies passed over them, continuing its search.

"What… What do we do now?" Heine asked fearfully as Rena sighed and removed her hand from his mouth.

"All we can do, I think," Rena sighed. "We hide, and wait for it to leave."

"Really, nya?" Cait asked curiously, shaking some of the water from his fur. "I would've thought you'd be the furst to run off and kill it."

Rena grinned wistfully at the thought, her eyes alight with the desire for adventure. Her gaze turned to meet Heine's eyes, though, and the excitement disappeared, replaced by worry. "I can't… not this time. I need to make sure Heine is safe, and if something goes wrong fighting the Gigginox…"

Heine lowered his eyes shamefully. "Sorry… Because of me, you have to run like this…"

"Don't blame yourself. It's probably better this way. I mean, if things go wrong, it's not like I have anywhere to run in the first place, and I can't really call in reinforcements…"

"That's never stopped you before, nya…" Cait muttered, earning a withering look from Rena. Before the huntress could retort, the sound of suctioned steps echoed down from above, growing louder as the Gigginox began another sweep of the forest. The huntress snapped her mouth shut, and the trio was forced into silence once more as the Gigginox continued to hunt for them.

* * *

The Gigginox subspecies continued to circle above them for the better part of an hour, before the sound of it crawling across the ceiling finally faded into silence. It was another fifteen minutes after that before the trio gathered the courage to risk coming out of the hollow, for fear the Gigginox was simply waiting for them to emerge into the open.

When they finally did emerge from the stump, the cavern around them had grown considerably darker. Looking up, Heine realized the large crystal cluster up in the ceiling had dimmed, covering the grass and trees in a dusk setting. Perhaps this was how the underground chamber managed to simulate a sort of day-night cycle. The three of them didn't really have time to speculate, being too worried about the reappearance of the Gigginox subspecies to appreciate their surroundings.

"We can't stay in here," Rena said sadly, as she stretched the kinks out of her body. Her eyes frequently looked skyward, as though she expected to see the Gigginox crawling across the ceiling at any moment. "As long as that thing is prowling around, we can't afford to stay here, no matter how nice it is. I can't… I don't know if I can keep you safe from it, Heine."

"Can't you… Are you sure you can't kill it?" Heine asked. "You're a hunter after all, and a really good one, as far as I can tell…"

Rena smirked at him. "Why, Heine, you flatterer! But… no, I… I want to say I could, really I do. But you saw me and the other hunters fighting it back in the Tower. That Gigginox is nasty, Heine. My armor's resistant to lightning, but it still hurt like hell when I got hit by its electricity. And it practically shrugged off getting blasted by an Anti-Dragon bomb! Even with a sword like mine, I don't know if it'll be enough… If it was just me, or me and Cait, I think I might have tried to hunt it, maybe, taken a risk to see if I could beat it. But… I can't do that this time, Heine; I have to make sure you're safe. I can't just charge into battle headfirst this time around, not when it could put you in danger."

"You never care that much about my well-being, nya…" Cait noted, leaping up Rena's back and perching on Rena's shoulder.

Rena flushed a bit at the words, but turned to glare at the Felyne. "That's because you're the master of fleeing, Cait. If I got into a tight spot, you'd be gone faster than a Rath Ruby on sale in the market! Need I remind you who spotted a perfect hiding place from fifty yards away?"

"What are we supposed to do then?" Heine asked. "We can't stay here. We can't go back…"

"We'll just have to go forward. I saw some branch caverns on the far walls of this chamber. If we can get to one of those, maybe we can follow one of them out of this place and back to the Meridian Tower… or at least up to the surface."

"Or maybe it'll just take us further underground, nya…" Cait muttered worriedly. "Or to a dead end, or to the Gigginox's nest…"

"Well, it's better than sticking around here and hoping it doesn't find us," Rena replied, putting on a confident face and grinning encouragingly at Heine. "My luck's always been good when it comes to picking directions. Let's find some high ground and see what our options are, and we'll figure out what to do from there."

"Rena, we can't exactly go someplace high, can we?" Heine pointed out. "Not with the Gigginox crawling around the ceiling like it is."

"Oh, yeah… Um… right then, let's just find the nearest cave and take that." Both Heine and Cait looked at each other nervously. "Well, do either of you have any better ideas? It might not be the best plan, but it'll get us out from under the Gigginox if it's still crawling around."

Neither of them did have any better ideas, so they were forced to concede to Rena's plan. At Cait's suggestion, they chose to head downstream, hoping to follow the water somewhere. It was all downhill, but really, they didn't have many other options, and they were able to stick close to water. The creekbed carried them another quarter mile under the canopy of trees before feeding into a small pond. Unfortunately, the water seemed to be emptying out through an underwater funnel or something of the like, because that was where their path following the water ended. The chamber was growing darker with each passing second, so Rena snapped off some branches and twigs from the trees for use as torches or kindling when they could risk lighting a fire.

A few minutes later, they managed to catch sight of a wide circular tunnel off in the distance which cut into the walls of the cavern. From where they stood, it seemed to be the only cave branching away from this chamber within a half mile of them, and with the light of the great crystal above them getting dimmer, it seemed like their best option. It took them some time to get to the cavern, though; it felt like everything they could see here in the subterranean chamber took longer to arrive at than they expected it to. When they arrived, however, they were no longer certain whether the idea to enter the first cave they came across was a good one.

Everything within was immensely dark. While the massive chamber they were in seemed to have reached its darkest, the large crystal filling the cavern with a glow similar to deep twilight, there were no sources of light in the cave ahead. However, on the far side, a faint red light was coming from deep within, though the source of the light was a complete mystery. From what little they could see, there were several other caves branching out from this one, though only the one had any light emanating from it. Worst of all was the noise though; from within the darkness, a strange rattling sound was rippling out, skittering across the rocks.

"Mmm, I don't like this, nya…" Cait muttered fearfully.

"Yeah, I don't either, but it's our best option," Rena replied. "That Gigginox will be even harder to spot at night, and we'll stand out like torches if its eyes work like normal Gigginox and can sense heat. We don't really have the time to risk making for one of the other caves."

"Hmm… what about that sound, nya?"

"Um… Maybe it's just the wind."

"What wind? We're underground," Heine pointed out, and Rena grumbled nervously.

After a minute or two of consideration, though, the group decided to press on into the darkness. Cait took point, his Felyne night vision allowing him to see the path in front of them. Heine took the middle, and Rena brought up the rear, ready to fight if the Gigginox came at them from behind. The trio walked in silence through the wide cavern, stepping cautiously to avoid the drops and gaps in the path. The tense rattling sound continued to reverberate around them, neither dulling nor growing louder as they pressed on. It felt like an echo, but seemed to be coming from all around them.

Heine didn't like it at all, and he could hear Rena and Cait breathing sharply as well. He assumed the huntress' fist was in a vise-grip on the hilt of her blade right now. Heine's instincts were telling him to run, ignore caution and flee, and he could only imagine what Rena's developed hunting instincts were telling her to do.

At least they were getting close to the end of the cavern. The pale red glow emanating from the small path ahead was getting brighter, and soon they'd reach it.

"Heine?"

Rena's voice, hoarsely whispered and barely heard over the rattling sound, nearly made Heine jump out of his skin. He turned on the huntress, hand clutching his heart as the organ beat furiously in his chest. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" he gasped.

"Sorry! Sorry… It's just…" The huntress looked around nervously. "The walls… don't they seem… _fleshy _to you?"

Heine frowned at the words, looking up at the walls and ceiling around them. It was too dark to really make much out, especially the walls and ceiling. Now that he looked, there did seem to be something… unnatural about the cavern they were in. It was hard to see, but the ceiling didn't have anything like stalactites, or cracks or protrusions; rather, the ceiling and walls appeared lumpy and bulbous.

"Looks like it's breathing, nya…" Cait muttered fearfully. Heine felt a cold feeling well up in his chest: now that the Felyne said it, they kind of did, enlarging and deflating in rhythm…

"It's just… it has to be an illusion," he muttered quietly. "Just our imaginations. Come on now, let's get out of here. I don't want to stay here any-" Before he could finish his thought, however, a rumbling echoed through the cavern, and the earth below them shivered slightly at the sound, pebbles clattering around their feet.

"Explosions?" Rena asked, shocked. Then her eyes lit up in excitement. "It's the research crew! They're trying to save us!"

But as the huntress spun about, she realized that the sound seemed to be coming from everywhere around them. There were almost a dozen other paths branching off from this cavern, and the sound could be coming from the expansive chamber they'd come from or any of the others. The sound was muffled and low, and seemed to reverberate around them, adding to the confusion.

"Where do we go?" Heine asked in confusion. "Is it… are they back in the big cavern? How do we-"

The courier's words sputtered away to silence however, as the three of them continued to look around. A deep purple glow began to crawl across the walls and ceiling around and over them, twisting across the ceiling like branches of a tree, coming closer and closer with each passing second. Heine abruptly realized the 'light' was actually 'lights', hundreds and hundreds of glowing purple marks lighting up across the ceiling and walls.

"Eyes… they're eyes, nya!"

They were. Oh mercy, they were! There were normal white Gigginox, dozens, maybe hundreds of them, sticking to the ceilings and walls and coating nearly every surface of the cavern. Their 'eyes', those orb-less organs, were coming to life, one after the other. The horde of Gigginox was… waking up. In the back of his mind, Heine realized what the emanating rattling sound from before had been: the shivering snoring of dozens and dozens of sleeping Gigginox. The awakening creatures, organs glowing vibrantly from the sudden noise which had woken them, were scouring around for the source, and many were starting to look their way.

"No… Heine, run!" Rena snapped, stepping in front of him. He could see her more clearly now; the dim glowing of the Gigginox eyes had actually made the room brighter, there were so many of them. The huntress swung an arm up to her hilt, preparing to draw her blade. "You too, Cait! Get him out of here! Take that red tunnel, and I'll hold them off as long as I can…"

A horrible image flashed through Heine's mind at the words, and his blood felt like it had frozen in his veins. He knew what Gigginox did to hunters when they got caught by one. It was a horror story told in taverns, and even the most battle-hardened hunters shivered at the thought. Just remembering what the green Gigginox did to the Popo out in the grassy cavern, and the thought of Rena suffering a fate like that…

"No, you can't!" he cried, lunging towards her and swinging his arms around the huntress' waist, under the sheath of the massive great sword. Rena yelped in surprise, nearly toppling over as he pulled her away from the Gigginox horde.

"Hey! What are you doing?! You need to-" But before the huntress could say more, Cait leapt up her body, planting himself over her face and muffling the sound of her voice.

"Pull her quickly, nya!" The huntress struggled against them, but failed to break loose as Heine scrambled to pull the huntress away from the rubbery, white monsters. Rena could have broken free of both of them easily, considering her strength, but they had managed to catch the huntress off guard enough that she stumbled along with them.

Heine searched around desperately for someplace, _anyplace _to hide. The glowing red cave they had been traveling towards was too far, and the cavern they'd come from was even further yet, with Gigginox lining the walls between here and there. Cait managed to catch sight of a small, low-hanging alcove a few dozen yards away, and Heine rushed to drag Rena towards it. The sound of the creatures beginning to stir caught Heine's ears, and the man dove for the hovel, Cait leaping from Rena's shoulder and helping to drag the huntress under the stone.

There was more room under the stone than Heine had figured, thankfully, just tall enough for them to sit up in, but it was still a tight fit for the three of them to crawl to the back of the alcove. As they pressed against the far wall, Rena swung around, finally pulling free from his grip and grabbing his collar.

"What are you doing?" she hissed, her eyes flaring angrily. However, there was a clear gleam of worry and fear in her eyes as well. "I could have held them off! I could have given you time to escape!"

"You would have been overrun!" Heine snapped back, more desperation in his voice than he would have liked. "You wouldn't have-"

"That doesn't matter! I'm the hunter here!" Rena replied. Her voice had a miserable tone to it now. "I'm supposed to be the one who protects you! I'm supposed to… even if it means-"

"Quiet! Shut your meowths!" Cait hissed fearfully, and the pair shut up, not a moment too soon. Just a few seconds later, a squishy suction sound closed in on them. Heine's breath tightened in his chest as the 'claw' of a Gigginox stuck to the ground just outside the small hole they'd wedged themselves into. The beast's rattling breathing could be heard as it scanned the area, its rubbery neck twisting about. The three of them held their breath, waiting in fearful silence, hoping the beast would pass them by without alerting the rest of the horde to their presence.

Rena suddenly gasped in pain, biting off a yelp. The huntress began twisting and writhing around in pain, and both Heine and Cait tried to shush her. Heine caught sight of what bothered her: a thick, wriggling Giggi had crept up on them and managed to latch itself to her thigh. A trail of blood trickled down the huntress' dark skin, as the pale maggot's tiny fangs bit through flesh to get at the blood beneath. There was a flash of steel as the huntress pulled her hunter's knife from its sheath, her eyes blazing furiously as she prepared to slice the vampiric worm in half. "Stupid, blood-sucking, son-of-a-"

"No!" Heine hissed. He lunged at the huntress, tackling her to the rocky earth, swinging on hand up, grabbing the arm which held the knife, and swinging the other to cover Rena's mouth. The huntress yelped in surprise at the abrupt motion, toppling onto her back. Rena was struggling under Heine's grip, and the man could just barely hold her thanks to the tight quarters and the huntress' hesitance to really fight against him. "Don't move!" Heine pleaded, before darting his gaze towards Cait. "Get it off! But don't kill it!"

Cait's eyes darted back and forth between the Giggi and Heine for a moment before the Felyne scurried over towards the pale bloodsucker. The parasite was getting bigger by the moment, growing fatter with the blood it was draining from the huntress. Cait grabbed hold of the creature, tugging on it and trying to pull it off without harming it or Rena too badly, but the worm-like beast was on tight, and released a high-pitched squeaking hiss as the Felyne pulled. The Gigginox just outside the hovel shifted around in agitation at the noise, its sensory organs searching for the source.

Finally, with a _pop_, the Giggi pulled free of Rena's leg, writhing and twisting in Cait's grip in anger at losing its food source. Heine's hand covered the huntress' scream of pain as the parasite came loose, Rena's free hand grabbing hold of his shoulder and squeezing painfully as the hand with the knife in it swung down and was driven into the ground with a clang of steel.

The Gigginox outside the hole turned sharply at the sound, its huffing breaths growing wary. The Giggi continued to hiss wildly in Cait's grip, making it hard to keep the worm under control. Flecks of Rena's blood sprayed from the creature's mouth, making Heine wince as it peppered his face and shoulder. The Gigginox's hissing shifted into a dull growl, and the dim glow of the beast's eyes grew brighter as its head lowered towards the small crevice.

With a yelp of fear, Cait swung around, hurling the Giggi in his grip out of the hole. The small worm didn't travel far, only flying a few yards out into the open, before bouncing across the ground and skidding to a halt under the Gigginox's body. The large creature's head twisted around, looking down at the smaller white worm. The Giggi hissed and squealed in frustration as it righted itself, but scurried off away from the hovel. The Gigginox watched it go for a moment or two, but instead of following, the beast's eyes once again lowered.

Glowing purple organs looked directly at them. Heine felt his heart leap into his throat at the sight, and Rena stopped breathing in horror. Cait stood frozen in fear where he stood, his fur bristling from ears to tail. The Gigginox growled even louder than before, and the sickly smell of the creature's poisonous breath stung at Heine's nose. The beast's skin began to swell, shifting from pale white to a darker grey, and the monster inhaled, preparing to screech at them.

The sound of a Gigginox screech tore through the cave, but not from the Gigginox in front of them. Heine cringed at the sound, and the Gigginox in front of them froze, its head snapping in the direction the trio had come from. Silence filled the air for a few moments, followed by a drumbeat of muffled explosions as more bombs were detonated by Harker's research team. The Gigginox outside their hovel looked around uncertainly, apparently just as confused about the direction as Heine and Rena had been. Another screech sounded, this time louder and more furious than before, and a jumping, flickering light flashed through the cavern, the sound of jumping electricity. Heine cringed in fear; it had to be the Gigginox subspecies again! More explosions followed, and the howl of the green Gigginox sounded once more, even more vicious than before.

This time, the rest of the Gigginox responded. In a wave of cacophonic howling, every Gigginox in the cavern returned the call, bellowing ear-splitting screeches of their own. Heine, Rena, and Cait all grimaced in pain at the roars of the Gigginox horde rattled their skulls, making their brains reverberate in their heads, try as they might to blot out the sound with their hands. It was no use, however; the sheer magnitude of the Gigginox screeching was too much. Heine felt his consciousness slipping, and he tasted copper on his tongue…

The screeches of the Gigginox finally began to fade, though the ringing in Heine's ears made it impossible for him to tell. But he stopped losing unconsciousness, and his vision slowly began to return, though all he could do now was lay limply where he was, paralyzed. The Gigginox just outside their hole lowered its head again, looking in on them, its eyes glowing menacingly and purple mist creating a haze deep within its throat. Finally its head snapped away from them, and the creature began crawling away, heading off to heed the call of the green Gigginox. Several other Gigginox passed the hovel as well, trailing behind the rest, and soon there was nothing in the cavern at all, save for the trio and a few Giggis scattered throughout.

The three of them hidden inside the dark nook didn't move, _couldn't _move, each of them recovering from the pain and horror of their experience. Heine could feel Rena gasping and hiccupping under him; she must have been crying. Honestly, he felt like crying himself, but he didn't even have the energy… the taste of copper was still fresh in his mouth, and he could feel a trail of blood sliding down his jaw and dripping onto Rena's armor. Cait was slumped against the stone wall, his pointed ears laid back against his skull, as the Felyne twitched and shivered from time to time. The three lay there for some time, recovering from the stress they'd undergone. Finally Rena began to shift around under Heine, and the man knew the time had come to move out.

"You know, Heine, not many men are bold or brave enough to keep their head against my chest for as long as you have." The words came out of Rena's mouth in a sort of croak, her voice ragged and broken, and they rang hollow, dull and muted to Heine's recovering ears. He looked up at her face, and as weak as she was, the huntress was still trying to give him the same playful smile she always did. He smiled back tiredly, thankful for the effort.

"So much for good luck in picking directions," he mumbled, and the huntress chuckled lightly.

Then her words really clicked in his mind, and looked back down, realizing he did, in fact, have his head resting directly in her bosom. With a flustered gasp, he scrambled awkwardly off of her. The huntress winced as his hand pressed against her leg, however, blood seeping from the circular wound the Giggi had given her. Heine gasped, scrambling to find some bandages he could use to patch the wound, but Rena shook her head, pushing herself upright.

"No… not now. We have to get out of here first," the huntress told him roughly, struggling to get back to her feet. Heine saw her wobbling uneasily and tried to make his way over to her to help, but found he was having trouble standing himself. He coughed painfully, wiping a trickle of blood from his mouth, as he struggled to keep himself upright.

The huntress leaned down, plucking Cait from the ground and holding the Felyne under her arm, before the three of them worked their way out of the small hole and looked around. The cavern was clear now, every single Gigginox having headed off at the call of the green one. The muffled sound of explosions continued to rumble through the cavern, however, as well as the dulled screech of a Gigginox echoing over the rocks. But as before, it was impossible to tell which direction the sounds were coming from. None of them had seen whether the Gigginox had traveled back to the main cavern or one of the other paths that branched out from this chamber. There weren't any flashes of light from explosions or lightning to give them direction either.

"We can't go back, not now," Rena sighed wearily. "Not with all those Gigginox between us and the rest of the research group… And even then, which path would we take? Any of them might lead back to the Tower… or right into the path of the Gigginox horde."

"Maybe we should go back to the lake, nya…" Cait muttered from under Rena's arm, still sounding slightly delirious. "There were fish there…"

"Sorry, Cait, I don't think-"

Rena's words were suddenly cut off as another rumble of explosions rolled through the chamber, followed by more Gigginox screeches. However, unlike before, the explosions were suddenly followed by a deeper, more tumultuous rumbling. The earth under them shivered as the emanating groan echoed through the cavern, and the sound of crashing rocks and collapsing earth filled the chamber. Several loose stones fell from the ceiling of the cavern, clattering to the earth around them.

After a long minute, the trembling began to die away, and the group looked around fearfully. They could still hear the sounds of the Gigginox howling occasionally, but there were no more explosions. No more booming blasts echoed through the chamber, only the cries of the Gigginox could be heard.

"A cave in… It had to have been…" Heine moaned hopelessly. "The expedition was coming for us. We could've… we might've…"

Rena looked at Heine sadly, opening her mouth to provide comfort. But she didn't speak, unable to think of anything comforting to say. The three of them stood in silence for a moment, listening to the distant echoes of the Gigginox screeches, before Rena shook her head and looked towards the path where the dim red light continued to glow. "I guess… we don't really have much of a choice left but to continue on, and hope there's another exit. Those Gigginox had to get down here somehow."

"Unless they've been down here fur generations like the Kelbi, nya…" Cait muttered, making Heine and Rena look at each other helplessly.

Heine looked nervously at the red-lit cave, the sound of Gigginox screeches still audible off in the distance. With a feeling of regret, the three of them pressed on, forcing themselves in the opposite direction than they'd come from, further into the unknown, with no certainty they'd ever see the light of day again.

* * *

**Author's Note: Please Review! Still looking for one more OC submittal for a future chapter! Hit me up if you've got one.**

**I think one of my favorite things that happen when writing is when typos or mistypes happen. Not so much in the editing process, when changes are necessary, but those little things you accidentally write or do that you catch immediately. For example, when writing TLC, I accidentally typed 'killed' instead of 'kissed' on occasion, which certainly made me laugh, considering the context. This happened during the writing of Underground, and I'd also sometimes forget to turn off caps lock (when working on things besides this story), which made for some very interesting conversations when Heine or Rena would suddenly sTART SCREAMING AT THE TOP OF THEIR LUNGS, at sometimes inappropriate or intimate moments.**

**I have an ever-increasing list of characters that I'm thinking of basing character designs for the sequel to TLC around. A lot of them are manga/anime characters that I'm particularly fond of, though there are novel characters and TV shows in there too. It's hard not to want to emulate a well-written and interesting character, after all. I mean, Harker was based off anyone with the spark in the Girl Genius webcomic, and people seem to love him.**

**Reading: **_**Jojo's Bizarre Adventure**_** by Hirohiko Araki (WTF THIS MANGA IS SO WEIRD), **_**Maoyuu Maou Yuusha**_** by Touno Mamare, **_**The Hunters Oath: Master Corps**_** by Thomas A. Hawk, **_**Faber et Filia**_** by Hoenn Master96  
Playing: Pokemon X, MH3U, Animal Crossing New Leaf, Pathfinder  
Listening: Crit Juice Podcast, Hello Internet Podcast, Welcome to Night Vale Podcast, Relient K, CatHatFiddle, Poets of the Fall, Cake, Pet Shop Boys, Death Cab for Cutie, They Might Be Giants, Revolutions Podcast  
Watching: The Prince of Egypt**


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